Almost three years after Google, Inc. (GOOG) announced a television advertising partnership with Dish Network, something fruitful may soon be afoot. The world's largest internet advertising company wants to integrate its Android mobile operating system into Dish equipment so that Dish subscribers can view satellite television programming right next to YouTube web-based video in one neat experience.Going up against a very similar effort announced just last week by digital video recording pioneer TiVo Inc. (TIVO), Google's effort boils down to getting its YouTube service in front of millions more that don't use it (or use it sparingly) on a computer by invading the television set. It makes sense; Google is still experimenting years after the YouTube purchase on how to most effectively monetize the property. But then again, who isn't working on bridging the gap between traditional video content and web-based video content?
More and more television sets will start shipping with internet video services baked right in, and at that point searching content becomes critical. There is far more video content online than is available with all the cable, broadcast and satellite programming combined -- with most of it being user-generated. Wading through all of that is paramount if Google wants YouTube to become the television of the internet.
In almost every way, it already is -- so now it's time to go after the actual television audience. At what point do subscribers turn more to web video than to quality television programming? That may never happen, but it will force broadcast and cable networks to deliver value as much as they can and stop rehashing formats like the sitcom of the past or the reality programming of today. There's a bunch more reality programming on the web than on the networks, right?
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