Google TV: why Hollywood isn't running scared
| Los Angeles
From a distance 鈥� Google Earth, perhaps? 鈥� the brouhaha over the Internet search giant鈥檚 overture to the major television networks to join Google TV sounds familiar. A highly-disruptive new technology without a clear fix on how everyone in the game will make money arrives to deliver yet another dose of choice and freedom to the modern consumer: the proposal is to make every TV show from 鈥淕illigan鈥檚 Island鈥� to 鈥淟ost,鈥� searchable and viewable on Internet-enabled screens whether in a living room or the palm of a hand.
Much of the attention in reports of the negotiations between Google and the network executives this week has focused on the studios鈥� reluctance to jump the broom with a new partner before a proper pre-nuptial deal has been signed.
But while echoes of earlier collisions between new gadgetry and old business models hover in the air, the reality, say industry insiders, media experts and brand specialists, is that Hollywood has learned a thing or two from the past.
鈥淭his generation of studio execs all read the same cautionary tales we do,鈥� says New York brand expert Adam Hanft. 鈥淭hese are not the same moguls of the past who had deep emotional commitments to the old ways,鈥� he says adding, 鈥渢hey are in tune with what鈥檚 going on and are consumers themselves.鈥�
The most infamous faux pas of the past few decades is the studios鈥� collective effort to quash the VCR in its infancy, a battle that went all the way up to the Supreme Court in 1980. The videotape and DVD market went on to become a major economic boon to the entertainment industry of the past 30 years. Some things have changed since then; a few have not, says David Wertheimer, CEO of the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California.
This trend-spotting think tank was founded in 1993 to feed the industry鈥檚 need to see around corners, he says. 鈥淭his is an industry that gets it; they know change is upon them faster than ever,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut just because they recognize this doesn鈥檛 mean they can come up with answers to the question of how to pay for anywhere, anytime free content for everyone.鈥�
Unlike in the past, however, he points out that many individual content creators realize they need to jump into new territory, 鈥渆ven if the money hasn鈥檛 been fully penciled in.鈥� He points to such ventures as Hulu.com as a good example of what he calls moderate risk-taking.
Mr. Wertheimer challenges the notion that Hollywood resists new technology for its own sake. 鈥淭his industry is built on technological innovation, trying out new and creative ways of telling stories,鈥� he says, adding that what鈥檚 going on now is an understandable caution when it comes to keeping the lights on. 鈥淚f nobody is making money, then all the shows we love to watch will go away.鈥�
Google itself, he notes, has had a hard time making money on anything besides its core search business.
Jumping in before the dust clears may be the only approach for a while, says Fordham University media professor Paul Levinson. The author of 鈥淣ew New Media鈥� says that the speed of technological change is only going to increase. He points out that in just the four years between the 2004 and 2008 elections, major innovations such as Twitter and Facebook emerged, changing the campaign landscape.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know how things are going to look in even five years,鈥� Mr. Levinson says, let alone further down the road. But, he adds, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 expect to see a great resolution of all the questions and challenges raised by new technologies in my lifetime.鈥�
