Google Ponders Pay-TV Business

Google is considering a plan to offer paid cable-TV services to consumers, a move that could unleash a new wave of competition within the traditional TV business.

Google has looked at ways to expand a previously announced project to build a high-speed Internet service in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan., adding video and phone service in a mirror of offerings from cable and telecom companies. As a result, Google has discussed distributing major TV channels from companies like Walt Disney Co., Time Warner Inc. and Discovery Communications Inc. as part of the video service, though the discussions were exploratory and no final decisions have been made. Google hired a former cable-TV executive, Jeremy Stern, who is spearheading talks with media companies. The discussions underscore the intensifying battle for control of the TV set. In recent years phone companies have jumped into a market previously dominated by cable-TV operators and satellite-TV providers. Now companies such as Amazon are bulking up their content offerings, while Apple and others are trying to reinvent the viewing experience with iPads and other devices, and potentially a new type of television set. Meanwhile, Comcast Corp. and other incumbent cable and satellite operators are fighting back, creating their own apps and lining up Internet-rights to programs that tie into their existing offline TV subscriptions. Much is at stake. Television reaps more than $150 billion per year in the U.S. from advertisers and consumers paying monthly fees.