Fox.com now blocking Google TV devices
Another one bites the dust. A couple of weeks ago, Fox.com was atop our list of Websites that could still be accessed on Google TV to stream full episodes of content. Well, you can go ahead and cross Fox off that list, as they are now blocking Google TV devices (see the photo above).
Context & Ripple Effects
Fox's move extends a wave that began in October 2010, when the major networks started blocking their web programs from playing on Google TV devices weeks after the platform launched. As GTVHub notes, fox.com had been one of the last sites still serving full episodes through the browser — crossing it off strips current Google TV owners of another legal, free route to network shows.
Google's posture in the surrounding coverage is defensive: its Google TV product lead told TechCrunch the platform is "not trying to replace cable," a framing pitched directly at the broadcast industry now walling off the device. The standoff is less about technology than about who sets the terms for putting ad-supported network video on a big screen.
First-order effects
- Current Google TV owners lose fox.com full-episode streaming, leaving the platform's free network content thinner and pushing viewers back toward traditional cable subscriptions or paid alternatives.
- Fox regains control of where its episodes appear online, keeping distribution tied to its own site and pay-TV partners rather than an open browser on the TV.
Second-order effects
- Every network that follows Fox strengthens the broadcasters' collective bargaining position against Google, forcing the company toward per-network deals or cable-authentication requirements — a concession its product lead has already signaled with the "not replacing cable" message.
- Device partners shipping Google TV hardware face a weaker consumer proposition: a set-top box whose headline feature, open web video, is being hollowed out by the very content owners who make TV worth watching.
Third-order effects
- If all major networks adopt the block, browser-based TV platforms become permission-based distribution channels, shifting structural power over connected-TV access to content owners who can dictate authentication and licensing terms.
- The episode points toward a connected-TV market where open-web access gives way to app-and-deal models, with platforms competing on signed agreements rather than technical openness.
The trend: Broadcasters are reasserting gatekeeper control over which devices may carry their web video, forcing connected-TV platforms to win content deals before hardware can deliver on the open-web promise.