Google launches broadcast programme content search service

Google Inc. has announced the launch of Google Video, a new service that enables users to search the content of television programmes from leading content providers such as PBS, the NBA, Fox News, and C-SPAN, among others.
"Our mission is to help Google users find the information they need, whether it's on the web, in a library, or on TV," said Larry Page, Google Co-founder and President of Products. "Google Video unlocks the information that streams across our TVs every day. Now users can search the content of TV programmes, find the shows that have the information they're looking for, and learn when they can watch them."
The Google Video beta enables users to search across the closed captioning content of growing number of television programmes that Google began indexing in December, 2004. Entering a query such as 'iPod' will return a list of relevant television programs with still images and text excerpts from the exact point in the programme where the search phrase was spoken.
Pat Mitchell, President and CEO of PBS, said: "For more than three decades PBS and local PBS stations have pioneered the use of state-of-the-art technology to use media to inform, engage, entertain, and educate the American public.
"We are proud to join with Google, a company that continues to achieve new levels of technical innovation with the launch of Google Video, a new service that increases the reach and impact of PBS content."
(GB)