Quantcast

Column: Will Chromecast survive Android TV?

Three and a half years ago, Google launched an assault against Apple TV and Roku boxes in a grand attempt to control our living rooms and finally advance the technology of cable boxes.

Adding an interactive overlay on top of live and streaming content, Google TV boxes and equipped sets aimed to create an interface that allowed for quick searches, painless Web browsing, and real-time info to work in conjunction with the content being viewed.

But recognizing the risk of such an endeavor to their powerfully antiquated business models, NBC, ABC , Fox, CBS , and Hulu blocked Google TV devices from accessing their Web content.

Add a misguided marketing campaign, needlessly expensive machines, failed partnerships with manufacturers, and boastful comments made by then-CEO Eric Schmidt, which only underscored poor performance and sales, and Google TV became one of the biggest tech flops of the 21st century.

Cut to 2013, and Chromecast debut made the Google TV fiasco a distant memory.

Full story at Minyanville.