A TV-Internet Marriage Awaits Blessings of All Parties

The blending of television and the Internet is inevitable. But will it happen in concert with the major cable and satellite distributors, or in spite of them?

That question loomed large at the Consumer Electronics Show last week as manufacturers promoted Internet-connected television sets and companies like Cisco and Sony talked about “redefining television.” All involved know that connecting the Internet to television and vice versa could solidify the distributors’ place in the food chain — or greatly erode it. During the trade show, however, there was a point in every demonstration where fantasy collided with reality — and it was usually when the cable and satellite distributors came up. “The idea here is to work with cable,” said Google’s Rishi Chandra as he showed off Google TV to Julius Genachowski, the Federal Communications Commission chairman. When working together, Google TV can seamlessly find live television channels, recorded shows, on-demand options and Web streams. So far, though, it works that way only with Dish Network. “Right now,” Mr. Chandra said, “we’re limited.”

After seeing television setups at the show, Chairman Genachowski said, “They’re incentivizing the cable companies to innovate.” At the show, media and technology executives largely agreed with that sentiment.