Google Dumps TV Service

If you’re living in one of the few communities getting Google Fiber, and you’re subscribing to TV as well as internet, count yourself lucky. Google is killing the traditional TV component of the service to concentrate on the internet component, which of course is perfectly capable of delivering video streaming. Existing TV customers get to keep their service for the foreseeable future—but at a price. Google Fiber TV subscribers in Charlotte are getting hit with a $20/month increase, and new customers in that area will pay an extra $30. But sign up in the new markets of Louisville and San Antonio, and you won’t even have the option of TV service. Google no doubt has its eye on the future. By 2020, according to Ericsson ConsumerLab, on-demand viewing will catch up with linear viewing, and half of it will be done on a mobile screen.—MF