Google interested in V8 Supercars rights, but why?
According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, Google is in negotiations for the rights to the Australian V8 Supercars racing series.
According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, Google is in negotiations for the rights to the Australian V8 Supercars racing series.
Before we get too excited about Google TV and its potential availability here, the rights the company is reportedly interested in are to screen the V8 Supercars series internationally and online.
So, why is the search giant sniffing around our local racing series?
It may have to do with a reboot of the Google TV service, which may or may not include a Siri-style voice control interface. Additionally, there are reports filtering out of Kansas City indicating that Google has, or will, apply to distribute video via its high-speed Google Fiber broadband service.
For either or both services to succeed, Google will no doubt require a fair amount of unique content, and as BSkyB in the UK and Foxtel locally have shown, sport is the biggest TV drawcard of them all. How much (paying) interest Americans have in V8 Supercars remains to be seen, especially as Nascar and IndyCar pretty much have the market cornered there.