In a move that was apparently not caused by content owners' cool reaction to Google TV, the giant search engine has turned the fledgling business over its YouTube division, according to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has high hopes for Google TV as a cable bashing service for eager cord cutters. Early on, though, while gathering technology support, it has faced opposition from broadcasters who control the programming. Those broadcasters wonder how--or even if--they'd make money from a service running on the Web rather than on a TV.
"Google hasn't done a good job, to tell you the truth, of explaining it," a network executive told the Chronicle. "We don't know if there's a viable business model."
That's something the YouTube division will learn as well now that it has Google TV in its portfolio and is expected to handle Google's "broader content partnership efforts."
"Just like any rapidly growing organization, it is important for YouTube to evolve and grow in order to ensure future success," a Google spokesman told the newspaper.
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