Topic: NBC

Google Challenges Apple, Netflix, Hulu with Video Rentals Service

Google is about to launch a premium video on demand service through YouTube that will directly challenge iTunes, Netflix, Hulu and even cable TV. In the past YouTube tested video rentals (and has continued to do so) but the titles were limited and the results have been muted. The new service appears to be called […]

YouTube Is The Real “Google TV”

Google TV, the company’s much-hyped “Connected TV” effort that brought together Sony, Logitech and Dish Networks, has failed to deliver on its promise — at least so far. While sales figures haven’t been released the public isn’t biting, it would appear. Google TV (the product) may ultimately join the ranks of Google Wave as an […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, January 20, 2011

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google’s Huge Earnings Overshadowed By Leadership Change Google just announced Q4 and full year 2010 earnings. They also dropped the bombshell that Larry Page would be taking over as CEO, with […]

Why You’re Still Waiting For Hulu Plus On Google TV

Nearly three months after Google TV hit the stores, Hulu Plus has yet to come to the service. Is the technical development really taking that much time? No. It seems more like Google and Hulu are still working out a partnership deal. Hulu Works For Samsung TVs Last week’s Consumer Electronics Show got me thinking […]

Apple TV: My First Day Review & Impressions

I’ve been looking at various internet-to-TV devices as part of my Life With Google TV series. I’ve covered Google TV, Roku & Boxee Box so far. Time for Apple TV! If you buy a lot with iTunes or have an iPhone or iPad, this is a great device. Amazing, in some ways. But the lack […]

Roku + Hulu Plus = Pretty Awesome

Last week, the Roku player gained support for Hulu Plus. I’ve been trying out the combo for the past few days, and it’s pretty awesome. It further fulfills the promise of streaming TV content from the internet and back to your TV in the way that Google TV hasn’t.

SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 22, 2010

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Report: Not Optimizing For Bing-Yahoo Means Loss Of Traffic From an SEM-SEO resource-allocation perspective focusing on Google historically made lots of sense for small and even medium-sized firms. Some firms didn’t […]

Boxee Box: My First Day Review & Impressions

As part of my Life With Google TV series, I’ve been looking at other internet-to-TV devices. Previously, I reviewed Roku. Next up? The Boxee Box. If you’re already a fan of the Boxee software service, the device might be worth it. However, it left me underwhelmed. That may improve when Netflix & Hulu Plus support […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, November 11, 2010

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing For Android Now Available To Everyone Bing for Android was previously only available on selected Verizon Android handsets. Now, according to Microsoft, it’s available to everyone with an Android handset, […]

The Networks vs. Google: Fox Now Blocking Google TV Too

Fox Broadcasting has become the fourth major US network to block Google TV from accessing its programing. The Rupert Murdoch-owned entity joins ABC, CBS and NBC, which all  previously blocked Google TV access to their shows. Google has said it’s “actively negotiating” with ABC, CBS and NBC to restore access to the programming. Add Fox […]

Roku: My First Day Review & Impressions

Until recently, I’d never heard of Roku, a little box that makes it easy to download TV shows and movies through the internet, for viewing on your TV. But as part of my Life With Google TV series, I’m looking at other internet-to-TV devices. Roku is pretty cool, and a no brainer for anyone who […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 22, 2010

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Appoints Privacy Director & Adds New Privacy Measures Google has announced they have increased their privacy controls within Google to better secure user privacy. Google has done this in response […]

Networks To Google TV: Talk To The Hand

TV is changing for better or worse. And perhaps sensing that their control over audiences and distribution is further slipping away and that their expensive programming is being reduced to mere “content,” the major broadcast networks are blocking access from Google TV. According to a story this afternoon in the Wall Street Journal: Full-length episodes […]

Life With Google TV: My First Day Review & Impressions

Google TV has finally arrived, not just for pre-order but as an actual device you can get in a retail store. And so I did, hitting Best Buy yesterday and walking out with a Sony Blu-ray player that is Google TV-capable. Here are my impressions, after my first day — well, first evening — with […]

Playing With YouTube Leanback On Google TV: Nice!

Today at YouTube, I had a chance to play briefly with YouTube Leanback, best described as a way to channel surf YouTube on your regular TV. It was pretty cool. Here’s my quick impressions and a short video of it in action. I tested out Leanback on one of the new Sony televisions that are […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 14, 2010

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Q3: $7.29 Billion, Display And Mobile Showing “Momentum” Google said it earned $7.29 billion in Q3 2010, an increase of 23% compared to the same period in 2009. Quarterly growth […]

Google & NBC Break TV Ad Deal

About two years ago, NBC and Google teamed up to enable Google to sell TV ads to be aired on NBCU cable channels. adWeek reports the deal has be “aborted.” adWeek said: NBC Universal and Google have discontinued their ad sales partnership begun in 2008, the companies have confirmed. The split deprives Google’s TV ad […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 13, 2010

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Facebook On Social Search: ‘We Want To Work With Everybody’ That was a statement Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made in response to a question at the end of the Bing-Facebook press […]

Need Pre-Facebook Movie Drama? Go Read “Googled” This Week

With the Facebook movie’s debut a week away, how about something to keep you entertained while you wait? A book. About that other major internet drama story, Google. The book? “Googled, The End Of The World As We Know It,” by Ken Auletta. Googled came out at the end of last year, and I’ve been […]

Sunrise, Florida, Reemerges From Google Maps’ Bermuda Triangle

The city of Sunrise, Florida, is back on the map. On Google Maps. It mysteriously vanished more than a month ago, making it impossible to find anything in Sunrise via a Google search. Some local businesses have reported significant declines in online sales. The city’s mayor, after contacting Google and failing to get a call […]

I Want My GTV: Will Google TV Soar Or Sink?

Notwithstanding the glitches, the demo last week was impressive: the seamless blending of TV and web content, the beautiful UI, the smooth search and browse capabilities. Now, a few days after the heady discussion and CEO briefings at Google’s I/O developer conference, we can reflect a bit on what the outlook might be for this […]

Scoring Social Media Use In The 2010 Winter Olympics

This year’s Winter Olympics has been heavily influenced by social media and this week’s column takes a look at some of the most memorable events that happened with help from fans (and sometimes athletes) collaborating together. Facebook fun When something is awesomely good (or awesomely bad) the Internet and social users tend to rally around […]

Bing, Google & Yahoo Gear Up For The 2010 Winter Olympic Games

With the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada just days away, the engines are unveiling their special coverage sections and search features in anticipation of spiking user searches and social conversations about the winter games and Olympians. Here’s a preview of the features from each, along with preliminary medals for search […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 10, 2009

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Search & Real Time Madness Make no mistake. I think real time search is indeed one of the most exciting developments that’s happened in the search space in years. But I […]

The Stories Brands Can Tell In Social Media

Since its invention towards the end of the 20th century, the Internet has changed a great many things. And one of the things that is has done time after time is dismantle business models that had seemed, until its arrival, absolutely rock solid. From music to publishing to TV, the Internet has swept away seeming […]

Google Gets Into “Addressable TV” With Visible World

Google’s TV Ads platform is getting some help from a company called Visible World, which offers demographic and geotargeted advertising across different media types. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal this morning: Google Inc. is teaming up with Visible World Inc., a well-known New York technology company that uses software to create […]

SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 18, 2009

Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Book Search Adds Seven New Features Today, Brandon Badger, Product Manager, Google Books, announced on the Inside Google Book Search Blog, seven, that’s right seven, new features and tools for […]

NBC Debuts “Addressable Advertising” With Microsoft Ads Platform

Across the TV industry there are various efforts going on to bring more targeting into TV advertising. The readers of this blog know about Google’s TV advertising initiative. But SpotRunner and various others (e.g. Project Canoe) have been working to bring “addressable advertising,” the kind of targeting that exists online (demographic, geo, even behavioral), to […]

SEO

JumpTap Launches Advanced Mobile PPC Marketplace

This morning mobile search provider and ad network JumpTap launched “tapMatch” a new PPC marketplace for mobile phones. It accommodates both display and text ads — including both search and contextual advertising — across major carriers and a range of partner sites in the US and Europe. According to the company it offers the most […]

Live Blogging The Google Earth 5.0 / Google Ocean Event

Google is having a special event today featuring former US vice president Al Gore to announce its new Google Earth 5.0 software that features new underwater views of the world’s oceans (Google Ocean) and 3D views, as well as “historic imagery” that allows people to see the earth back in time through archived satellite views […]

Can Searchers Find The Superbowl?

Google Hot Trends can be a fascinating look at what has suddenly peaked the interest of Americans, and today everyone wants to know about the Superbowl. 35 of the 100 spiking searches have the word [superbowl] in them, and another 27 are Superbowl-related (including game-food recipes and team details). So how do searchers fare in […]

SEO

Yahoo Layoffs On Dec. 10 & At $11 Yahoo Now Significantly Undervalued?

AllThingsD reports that Yahoo’s previously announced 10 percent reduction in force (layoffs) is set to begin on December 10. However, the post also says that chief Yahoo, CEO Jerry Yang, is not considering leaving his post for now. (NOTE: See update, Jerry Yang Stepping Down As CEO; Resuming Chief Yahoo Role). Yahoo stock is hovering […]