Google Set To Unveil Pay-Per-View Plan, CBS May Partner

Google founder Larry Page today is expected to announce a new pay-per-download video service today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and CBS may once again team with the search engine as a content provider. The new service, a potential threat to Apple iTune's strong foothold in the download video market, was first reported in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.

Google, which introduced its video search service in January, has been mulling a pay-per-view model since at least April, when the company asked invited users to upload clips and name a suggested price per view.

Last September, Google arranged to stream the debut episode of UPN's "Everybody Hates Chris." In a move called an "experiment" by CBS Digital Media president Larry Kramer, that video was shown for free, and without ads. At the time Kramer said that CBS was exploring different models for video distribution on the Web, including a pay-per-download option.

Google video had a big growth spurt last fall, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. Traffic to Google Video increased to 2.6 million visitors in November, marking a 58 percent increase from October, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. The research company also reported that Google Video accounted for about 3 percent of Google's November traffic.

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