Netflix at center of Web TV battle

The emergence of internet television has spawned a battle between Apple, Google and several smaller companies trying to design a product that captures the consumers' attention. Though the convergence of the web and TV is just now beginning in earnest, there is already at least one clear winner. The Netflix streaming app is arguably the key feature of all the devices coming to market. The streaming of Netflix videos in a plethora of popular devices is the most mature and accepted technology in the dawning of this new internet TV era.

As a result, Netflix stock has skyrocketed during the last year, outperforming all other stocks with a market value over $5 billion listed on the Nasdaq exchange during this period.

NFLX has shot up 228 percent over past 12 months.

With the exception of the Google TV platform, all of the web TV products are basically devices that allow users to stream Netflix videos on a TV set, with differing bonus features.

Google TV also has a Netflix app.  A search feature is what sets the Google TV system apart. However, the major TV networks are blocking access to their content, so a true internet TV experience is still lacking.

The Google TV initiative is run by Google's YouTube division. The top bonus feature for Google TV is an enhancement of YouTube, dubbed Leanback. YouTube contains online display ads. Google says display advertisement will be a $50 billion market by 2015. The big studios' fear that Google TV will eventually tap into their lucrative ad market, estimated to be $83 billion, is the reason for the current standoff.

Google TV's integration with Sony television is another distinguishing feature.

Beyond its Netflix app, what stands out for Apple TV is the bling factor and its integration with iTunes. The sleek design of the Apple TV unit will attract many consumers.

Apple TV is often compared to Roku, the first device to stream Netflix movies. The Roku set-top box was designed by Anthony Wood, who worked for Netflix at the time. When Netflix CEO Reed Hastings decided against owning a dedicated Netflix player, Roku was spun-off. Hastings preferred to license the Netflix streaming service to Roku, and later to popular devices such as Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's Playstation.

Ironically, Roku recently announced that it would license its software. Netgear will market the first set-top box embedded with the Roku software. The $89 Netgear Roku Player offers 1080p HD video and content from Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand and Pandora radio. Premium pay content includes a major league baseball MLB.TV app.  Later this year, Roku will get Hulu Plus, which offers programming from ABC, NBC and Fox for $10 a month.

The attractive $99 Apple TV box is small enough to fit into the palm of your hand. It does not have a storage hard drive. Unlike competing devices, the Apple TV unit does not support full HD 1080p video. The Apple device allows WiFi streaming of content from Netflix, YouTube and $.99 rentals from ABC, Disney, Fox and the BBC.

Airplay, the most innovative Apple TV feature,  is scheduled to be released in November. The technology will allow users to transfer a video being viewed on an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to an Apple TV unit.

D-Link's Boxee Box is another web TV competitor. D-Link recently announced that Boxee Box, which will be available in stores November 10, will offer Walmart's Vudu online movie rental service. Boxee CEO Avner Ronen, in comparing the $200 Boxee Box to Apple TV, points out that the web TV player also offers storage.

Another more expensive streaming media player featuring storage was also recently announced by hard drive maker Western Digital. The $200 WD TV Live Hub features a one terabyte hard drive, along with content from Netflix, Pandora, YouTube and Blockbuster video on demand.

Sony also has a web TV netbox which streams videos from Netflix and Amazon. The $130 Sony unit supports 1080p full HD video, has a USB storage connection and can be controlled with its iPhone and Android apps.

Related articles

• Boxee Offers HD Streaming Movies with VUDU (readwriteweb.com)
• Boxee Box launches, adds Netflix and Hulu Plus support (news.cnet.com)

The Google revolution will be televised

This is my newest article on Benzinga.com

It's been a long time since I've seen a good fight. I'm a lifelong boxing fan. I  have fond memories of watching the Gillette Friday Night Fights with my dad in our South Central Los Angeles apartment in the late 1950s. We moved to the tough inner city neighborhood from a tenement on the southside of Chicago, the windy city where my mother was born. The current battle between the two Silicon Valley titans, Apple and Google, is the closest thing to a good heavyweight fight that I've seen since Muhammad Ali's Thrilla in Manila and Rumble in the Jungle boxing matches captured the public's imagination over 35 years ago.

This current Silicon Valley battle, like the Ali-Frazier and Ali-Foreman fights, has seen a lot of trash talking   -  a veritable vanilla rapper's delight. Like contemporary rappers, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has the bling. And Google will tell you to show me the ad money.  They like to talk about cash money - dollar bills, yall.

Google co-founder Sergy Brin has his hands full

Cash is king at Google. It has $33.4 billion in cash, and cash equivalents.

Their recent introduction of Google TV is, in part, an attempt to tap into the lucrative television advertising market, estimated to be worth $83 billion, according to the Difffusion Group.

Google recently predicted that online display advertising will grow to become a $50 billion market  by 2015. Yahoo has long been the display ad market leader.  Google has made great strides in this area recently and is now running neck and neck with Yahoo. With the integration of YouTube and its lucrative display ad business into its new TV platform,  Google threatens to surpass and dominate Yahoo in display advertising like it does in online search advertising.

When announcing its recent third quarter results, Google said that its display ad revenue has reached $2.5 billion on an annual basis. This includes YouTube advertisement and ads on the DoubleClick platform. YouTube sales are growing as they are now monetizing over two billion views per week. That's an increase of 50 percent over last year.

YouTube Leanback was recently released to coincide with the launch of  Google TV. Leanback was designed, in part, to recreate the traditional TV experience. Currently,  people who watch YouTube videos spend, on average, about 15 minutes a day viewing clips. However, they spend an average of five hours a day watching television. Prior to its integration with Google TV, lab results indicate that people spent twice the 15-minute average  watching customized Leanback videos. That will significantly increase potential ad revenue.




"Google TV is going to revolutionize the way we use media," declares Shattuck Groome, president of New York ad agency Gotham Direct Interactive. "It's the future of advertising."

Google TV will let advertisers reach viewers faster. The Google TV platform will also give advertisers more transparency when analyzing viewer data. Advertisers will know exactly who viewed their ad, how many people clicked on it, and how many viewers used a "click-to-call" feature to contact advertisers immediately.

TV advertising is much less expensive with Google TV. An online video ad cost about $30 per 1,000 viewings, according to the Diffusion Group. Jeroen Coppelmans, a vice-president at Spotzer Media, which puts together video ads for small businesses, says that "someone with a budget of a couple of dollars a day could do TV advertising."

The new Google TV is integrated in high-definition Sony televisions and Blu-ray players and a set-top box made by Logitech.

The most notable of the numerous apps designed for Google TV is one for NBC's CNBC that allows users to track stocks and access news alongside the business channel's live broadcasts. Both Amazon and Netflix have video apps.

Related articles

• With Google TV, I May Never Leave The Sofa Again (techcrunch.com)
• A Google-Apple Snipefest (bits.blogs.nytimes.com)
• YouTube Leanback officially launches -- on Google TV (youtube-global.blogspot.com)
• ABC, CBS And NBC Shut Out Google TV: Fox And MTV Still Available (techcrunch.com)
• Big Networks Block Web Shows From Google TV (bits.blogs.nytimes.com)

Sony previews Google TV offering

Details of the much heralded Google TV emerged on ABC's Nightline as Sony prepares to introduce what its describes as the first internet television on October 12.

Sony's proposed Google TV controller was seen for the first time on ABC's Nightline

Related articles:

• Sony's Google TV product slated for October 12 NYC unveiling (news.cnet.com)
• Sony's Google TV Controller Taking Design Cues From Atari's Jaguar? (Video) (nytimes.com)
• Google TV Hopes to Change How Much You Watch, How You Surf (USATODAY.com)

Editor's Choice: New Sony HDTV connects with Yahoo widgets

Sony recently announced a new line of HDTVs with Yahoo Widgets. The Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year was a coming out party for internet-friendly, or "connected TVs." Most Connected TVs support streaming video from services like Netflix and news feeds through widgets.

Sony's new Bravia W-Series HDTVs do both. Bravia uses the Yahoo Widget Engine to track news, finance, sports and weather as well as photos posted on Flickr. The Bravia Internet Video service allows you to stream video from YouTube and others. Watch the Yahoo TV Widgets demo here.

Editor's Choice: 3D TV w/Nvidia card

Next Generation TV Emerges: OLED, 3D and Web-connected