SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Three of the biggest U.S. television broadcasters have blocked their shows from Google Inc's new Web TV service, throwing a wrench into the company's plans to expand from computers to the living room.
Spokespeople from Walt Disney Co and NBC Universal confirmed on Thursday that the companies blocked access to its broadcast TV shows from Google TV. Disney owns network and cable TV businesses ABC and ESPN.
News Corp's Fox is also considering blocking access to shows on its website, but a decision has not yet been made, a source familiar with the matter said.
CBS has blocked access to full-length episodes of their programs, including popular fare like 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,' according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
CBS declined to comment.
Google TV, which became available this month in the United States, allows consumers to access Web content on their television screens.
The service, which is built-in to devices from Sony and Logitech International , could open new advertising opportunities for Google, which generates the bulk of its roughly $24 billion in annual revenue from Web search ads.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic, Yinka Adegoke, Jennifer Saba and Sue Zeidler. Editing by Kenneth Li and Robert MacMillan) Keywords: GOOGLE/ TV (alexei.oreskovic@thomsonreuters.com; +1 415 677 2511; alexei.oreskovic.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Spokespeople from Walt Disney Co and NBC Universal confirmed on Thursday that the companies blocked access to its broadcast TV shows from Google TV. Disney owns network and cable TV businesses ABC and ESPN.
News Corp's Fox is also considering blocking access to shows on its website, but a decision has not yet been made, a source familiar with the matter said.
CBS has blocked access to full-length episodes of their programs, including popular fare like 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,' according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
CBS declined to comment.
Google TV, which became available this month in the United States, allows consumers to access Web content on their television screens.
The service, which is built-in to devices from Sony and Logitech International , could open new advertising opportunities for Google, which generates the bulk of its roughly $24 billion in annual revenue from Web search ads.
(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic, Yinka Adegoke, Jennifer Saba and Sue Zeidler. Editing by Kenneth Li and Robert MacMillan) Keywords: GOOGLE/ TV (alexei.oreskovic@thomsonreuters.com; +1 415 677 2511; alexei.oreskovic.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.