• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 25, 2005

For years TV marketing executives have moaned about the decreasing ways viewers can sample their new shows. Now two of the biggest names on the Internet -- Google and Yahoo! -- are set to perhaps exponentially increase TV program marketing possibilities.

Google launched Google Video yesterday that will let users put in key words to search for closed-captioning transcripts and still images of TV shows. Soon, it will offer streaming video.

Type in words such as "loud mouth conservative-leaning cable news personality" -- and voila -- there's Bill O'Reilly talking you down from your bleeding heart liberal whine.

Now the Internet can become a more valuable property for marketing even the smallest show. Looking for a family of many wild and fun brothers with a Keith Carradine kind of father character? You'll find video of ABC's somewhat marketing neglected "Complete Savages."

The Hollywood Reporter quoted Jennifer Feikin, director of Google Video, saying "Google Video could be a way to unlock the value of the programming and provide our users with information." Google has signed with PBS, Fox News, the NBA, and C-SPAN so far.

Yahoo! is in the hunt with a beta-test service; it also has video service, TVEyes, which will provide content from Bloomberg, the BBC, and BSkyB.

Daily Variety pointed out that Yahoo! has two strong ex-Hollywood executives who can pull some content its way - Terry Semel, a former Warner Bros. executive who is now Yahoo!'s CEO and former ABC senior executive and now head of media and entertainment, Lloyd Braun.

The next step is to put advertising in and around the video content -- and naturally have the TV content providers share in that new stream of wealth.

If all goes well, many networks will benefit at the same time.