Google's Pet Kangaroo

When is a Kangaroo not a Kangaroo? When it’s the name of a new start-up venture being courted by Google. Project Kangaroo, as it’s being called, is a new website that will bring TV shows from UK broadcasters the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 together in one place as part of a joint effort between the broadcasters and the Google. 

Details are a bit sketchy at the moment, but the website would be partly advertiser-funded with new shows being aired for free featuring adverts, while older shows will be available on some kind of rental program. Of course, the Competition Commission is sniffing around any potential deal like a Kelpie (iconic Australian dog) at BBQ and they’ll probably think of a million reasons why it shouldn’t be allowed to happen, but so far Google are convinced it’s a goer. 

MyTake – Google are on a roll aren’t they? While I think that the idea of centralising content is good, I don’t know that a website is the way to go, unless it functions as some kind of virtual TV set. Surely it would make sense for the broadcasters to make their content available (advertiser-funded of course) through a program like iTunes, or in a format that most media players could work with? It’s still early days and I’m not entirely sure what it is, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing more information about it soon. Plus, I don’t think Google has ever launched or got involved with a dud in it’s ten year existence. Oh yeah – Happy 10th Birthday Google!