At the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco on Thursday the company unveiled plans to expand linear channels on the Google TV platform. Partnering with AOL, Bloomberg, the Huffington Post, Pluto, the Weather Network, and Zattoo, Google TV is asking online video providers to add their apps as linear channels. Furthermore, Google TV is encouraging app publishers to program content in a linear fashion, and add live programming. The result will be niche app channels that line up next to traditional TV networks such as ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Online publishers can also incorporate advertising into the channels, following the traditional broadcast television model. Google Android TV manager Allen Huang used as an example a linear channel for re-runs of the show Friends, which Android TV users could access at any time from from a customized channel grid. Several manufacturers started selling TVs with the Android TV platform, including Sharp and Sony. Here’s an unboxing of the new 65″ Sony 4k TV with Android in which you can see the software interface.
[Image: Google Android TV Nexus Player and remote control]
Great article. For those who live outside US like me, you can access Netflix, Hulu and similar media stations on your Google TV by using UnoTelly or similar tools.