Google Could Be Disrupter in Battle to Be Living Room OS, Analysts Say
“Watch Google,” said a Friday streaming TV analyst note to investors from LightShed on the war for the living room among MVPDs, platform providers and media companies. Google could be a “much needed disrupter” in the connected TV world, reducing…
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leverage Roku and Amazon currently hold, wrote Richard Greenfield and colleagues. Amazon “has underwhelmed” with Fire TV as a TV operating system, and Apple doesn’t want to be a TV OS on third-party TVs, said analysts, leaving “all eyes” on Google to take on category leader Roku. Unlike Roku, whose devices and platform were “purpose built for streaming video,” Google doesn’t need to make money, “at least today,” from connected TV ad inventory or sharing in new subscription VOD services, analysts said. Google’s interest is in gaining data on user behavior, capturing more of consumer’s time, boosting usage of its ad-supported YouTube app and growing its YouTube TV, Stadia and Nest Aware apps, they said. Google didn't comment. Analysts cited increased tension between platforms and programmers/apps that first became evident in January with a battle between Fox and Roku before the Super Bowl. Now, TurnerMedia’s HBO Max, which launched late May, doesn't have an agreement with Roku; NBCUniversal’s Peacock, rolling out broadly on Wednesday, reportedly doesn't have an agreement with Fire TV or Roku, either, they said. Those companies also didn’t comment.