YouView has welcomed the announcement of a launch for Google TV in the UK by Google's Eric Schmidt last week.
The long-awaited YouView IPTV project – backed by the four main terrestrial broadcasters, BT, Arqiva and TalkTalk – will not launch until 2012, and will now face the might of Google when it arrives.
Originally, YouView was expected to launch this year, but the project formerly known as Canvas has now been pushed forward following a lengthy approval process with the BBC Trust and some changes to the key personnel.
Google TV has hardly been a massive success in the US since it launched there this year, but it could feasibly be a key challenger for YouView.
Back on track?
However, a spokesperson for YouView told TechRadar that the competition was welcome.
"The announcement of Google TV was expected," said the spokesperson. "YouView welcomes competition that gives the consumer more choice in the market.
"We are still on track to launch in 2012, when connected television will have relevance for mainstream audiences."
Of course, it would be fair to point out that connected televisions are already proliferating, and with many enjoying catch up television services through existing set top boxes and smart TVs, YouView would have been relevant had it launched when it was originally expected to.
The major broadcasters are likely to go with multi-platform coverage for their shows and players – which would grant the maximum views for its advertising.
And with the likes of Sky and Virgin Media battling for the prime TV content from foreign markets, the landscape is anything but clear for Google TV or YouView.
