Google's plans to establish TV on YouTube may involve no less than creating a full-fledged alternative to conventional broadcasting, rumors maintained on Thursday. A pair of sources claimed that Google was spending up to $500 million to $600 million, considerably more than the $100 million it has officially detailed, to get professional video content. SAI understood proposals were being made not just to the independents already courted for YouTube but cable channel creators and even those for whom video was just a secondary business.
Tens of millions of dollars were being spent on some individual deals, one of the sources said. In some cases, industry veterans were finding themselves competing against Google for the same deal.
The exact solution Google was trying to create wasn't clear, but it would most likely be to reduce dependency on traditional TV, especially for platforms like Google TV. It had once been hopeful that the Android TV platform could merge the best of both worlds, but many traditional TV providers have actively blocked it from viewing their web video and have neutered much of its reason for being. Having its own content would obviate that need.
Google also recently bought Motorola and could have its own developer of TV set-top boxes alongside whatever help it gets from Google TV partners.
