• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, November 12, 2007

Google is in talks with "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller, according to a report in U.K. paper The Guardian.

The newspaper says that the search giant and Fuller are discussing a collaboration that "could change the way TV is watched over the Internet."

Details remain a mystery, but the Guardian's sources are making sweeping pronouncements about its scope. One told the newspaper, "It's a big idea on a global scale," and, "It will change television in much the way iTunes changed the way music is disseminated."

Rumors of the talks will surely unsettle some media execs, who have long worried about Google's ambitions in TV. Google has already taken steps to sell ads in print, radio and other traditional media, but has largely shied away from creating original content.

Of course, it's not clear that the Fuller talks will lead to new content created for the Web, as opposed to a new way to distribute shows created for television.

Even if Google does intend to create as well as distribute content online, there's no guarantee that the effort will be successful. Media companies in the past have had mixed results with efforts at creating original Internet content. Consider, Michael Eisner's Web show "Prom Queen," which debuted on MySpace, garnered millions of views and significant industry buzz. But "Gold Rush," -- AOL's collaboration with reality TV impresario Mark Burnett -- never seemed to capture the industry's attention in the same way.