At the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Google announced plans to open a video marketplace, enabling consumers “to buy and rent a wide range of video content from a major television network, a professional sports league, cable programmers, independent producers and film makers.” Launched early last year, Google Video initially provided only free videos uploaded by end-users.
CBS is Google’s first major video content producer to sign-up for the service. CBS’s current primetime hits will include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NCIS, Survivor and The Amazing Race. Library classics will include I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, The Twilight Zone, MacGyver, Have Gun Will Travel, Mannix, My Three Sons, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. All CBS programs will be presented commercial free.
Google Video will also feature NBA games from this season and some of the greatest individual performances in NBA history.
Owners also have the choice to offer their content with or without Google’s own copy protection scheme. Additionally, content from Google Video can be viewed with a new player that can be downloaded for free from any playback page. It offers all the traditional playback options (play, pause, stop…) as well as a “thumbnail” navigation feature that enables users to browse through an entire video, or frames at a time, with a simple click of their mouse.http://video.google.com
