Google May Be Entering Pay TV Market

So the next time you move into a new home or apartment, one of the questions you may be asking yourself is whether you want to go with cable, satellite....or Google. Yes, according to a report from the Hollywood Reporter, the search giant is looking to move into the incredibly rigid territory of paid TV service. The company has filed for TV franchise licenses in Missouri and Kansas.

Of course, Google is not the only one trying to hone in on the market that has been one of the strongest oligopolies in recent corporate history. For example, Microsoft has struck deals to offer live TV on the Xbox 360 and there are mobile apps that offer the same thing. It's a huge difference, though, because at least for now, those options still require users to be a paying cable subscriber before they can get access to live streaming TV.

Google's most recent attempt to gain dominance in the living room failed, as the company's Google TV software has not only failed to attract ambitious support from TV manufacturers, it also has gotten the cold shoulder when trying to secure content partners. Google TV still doesn't even offer a Hulu Plus app, even though that has become commonplace with other Internet-connected TVs and set-top boxes. Perhaps it just needs to set its sights on a more ambitious project.

Google would be building something from the ground up, potentially through a fiber-optic infrastructure in the same fashion as Verizon, which is one of the newest entrants in the pay TV industry. To delve much further into discussions about this now would be an exercise in speculation. Clearly, though, if there's a company on this planet that has proven it can take on the establishment and win, and provide a more pleasant experience for consumers all around, it's Google. To enter this market would be one of its most arduous tasks to date, but we'd love to see it try.

[via Hollywood Reporter]