Fox Blocks Its Shows From Google TV Web Viewing
News Corp.'s (NWS) Fox has blocked viewers from watching online versions of the network's television episodes from the Google (GOOG) TV Web browser, according to an Associated Press story that cites an unidentified Fox employee. The news comes after ABC, NBC and CBS blocked Google TV access about three weeks ago.
Fox didn't block Google TV's Web access earlier because the service was so new that it didn't have enough users to warrant attention before, AP reported. The Sony televisions that come equipped with Google TV still have access to the over-the-air network content, but not the online versions of the shows, according to the AP story.
Some media companies restrict access to shows from Internet-connected televisions because there are fewer advertisements for online episodes, and their growing popularity may eat into conventional television viewership and put revenue streams from cable and satellite services at risk, AP reported.
"Google TV enables access to all the web content you already get today on your phone and PC, but it is ultimately the content owner's choice to restrict users from accessing their content on the platform," Google said in a statement Thursday.
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