• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, June 8, 2020

When Google started Google Preferred some years ago -- which gleaned premium TV-like video content on YouTube to sell to big brand advertisers -- seemed like a big potential TV ad disrupter. 

At the time, TV Watch spoke to several major TV media-buying executives, who were enthused: What’s not to like about more premium advertising safe content that is measured by Nielsen? But the complaint: There was never enough.

Now, Google wants to change that -- adding more channels and content via its “Streaming Lineups” effort. But that’s only one small step. There’s a bigger goal of taking on Roku and Amazon.

The iffy consideration is from its big YouTube video platform. While it continues to grab massive users, only 30% view YouTube through big connected TV platforms like Roku and Amazon. 

YouTube is a mostly desktop/laptop/mobile focused platform -- not that big TV screen sitting in your living room. In that regard, brands always viewed YouTube as incremental.

The bigger issue is that Google has been slow to get into the set-top box/or smart TV platform providing programming apps. In effect, why did Google let Roku and Amazon dominate the business when it had a major video platform in YouTube to build on?

For its part, Roku and Amazon realize it was never about just one single programming platform on one pay video streaming service.

Roku and Amazon Fire TV have thousands of app partnerships and distribution agreements in which platforms give them advertising inventory to sell. That’s where the big ad revenue growth is.

Now, it seems Google is finally working on its own connected TV Android-based platform. Is it too late?

YouTube is still a major piece of the digital video puzzle -- especially when it comes to viewing consumption. Additionally, YouTube TV, the still-young digital pay TV platform for linear TV networks, continues to grow at around 2 million subscribers.

Google is a big media company with lots of moving pieces, a company which pulled in $162 billion in revenue in 2019. This comes against a total connected TV ad market of $6.5 billion in the U.S. for that same year, according to eMarketer.

It might not seem like much of a business target to consider. But, of course, Google is really eyeing that $70 billion in total TV advertising spend per year.

Google’s longtime goal has always been to compete with big media and entertainment companies. Its new connected TV set-top box/smart TV interface effort reportedly has an in-house code name: “Sabrina.”

Like that famous fictional teenage TV witch character, she’ll need to put a big spell on things.