Google is testing a new TV search service with Dish Network, the no. 2 U.S. satellite TV provider, the WSJ reports.
The service lets you search TV shows and Web video, including YouTube videos, the WSJ’s Jessica Vascellaro reports. The service runs on set-top boxes “using elements of Google’s Android operating system,” and is currently being tested by Google employees and their families, according to the WSJ.
The idea is that Google will be able to make a better user interface for TV searches than service providers like Dish Networks can make themselves (probably true). Google may also be able to hook up its TV ad business to the service, too, the WSJ reports.
Potential hurdles could include the necessity of new set-top boxes — something households and service providers rarely upgrade — and service providers’ reluctance to share any more information with Google than they already do. But if it could actually generate higher ad revenue, it may be worth a shot.
Source: BusinessInsider
