Google Video Store a sign of things to come

Google is providing a platform for the 'viral' delivery of programming

Gartner has predicted that Google's newly opened Video Store will offer a preview of things to come in 2006 as TV and video content increasingly move to the web.

The analyst firm expects to see network entertainment providers shift from being linear programmers to become creative forces working with media titans such as Google for the "viral" delivery of their programming.

The Google Video Store, which opened on 6 January, offers the choice of buying or renting first-run and classic TV and video content.

As part of its service the search giant will offer elements of a media delivery infrastructure, including a publishing platform, payment mechanism, content protection and standalone media player.

"Google is offering key elements of an end-to-end ecosystem that provides an on-ramp for publishers, flexible options for consumers and a transaction business model for content creators of all strata," said a new report by Gartner analysts Allen Weiner and Mike McGuire.

"As with everything in Google's vision of the world, search is the front door to the video experience." 

The report noted that a critical element to this announcement is Google's adoption of a content protection layer.

"While not viewed as a digital rights management [DRM] tool per se, Google might very well use its content protection/access control scheme, coupled with the ability to return search results with the file format and DRM-specific options, as an interoperability mechanism," Gartner stated.

"In this scenario, videos and songs would be delivered in the specific file format/DRM wrappers required for consumers' computers and portable devices.

"Consumers would be able to play content encoded and protected in multiple formats via the Google web-based player."

For media companies selling content, the analyst firm advises exploring partnerships with search providers to test the demand for current and archived content and evaluate potential pricing structures.

Gartner advises telcos, cable companies and ISPs to seize the opportunity to "emerge from utility bandwidth status" by using search providers to offer such services as hosting, storage and bandwidth on demand.

The analyst firm pointed out that Google's move into the video marketplace started early in 2005 when it began encouraging content creators to upload content.

"This provided a stage and discovery process to content creators, and helped Google to improve its video search and indexing, as well as learn how best to transcode video and audio codecs," said the report.

"This significant step propelled Google ahead of Yahoo and MSN in a rapidly accelerating segment."