Google reportedly mulling pay TV launch in Kansas City

Google is mulling the possible launch of a pilot pay TV service in Kansas City in the US, according to a report in the Wall St Journal.

Kansas City is among a number of US cities in which Google plans to market test fibre-to-the-home, delivering speeds of up to 1Gbps under the Google Fiber project announced earlier this year. According to the Journal, the internet search giant is considering offering pay TV and telephony services, and had discussed the possibility of distributing TV channels from major content suppliers. However, it said that these discussions were still at an exploratory stage and no final decision had been taken.

In response, Google said it was still exploring product offerings to accompany the launch of Google Fiber in Kansas City.

Google last week unveiled the new version of its Google TV platform and announced plans to create 100 original video channels on the YouTube website. The latest launch follows limited success for the initial version of Google TV, which was criticised for lack of ease of use, the limited availability of equipment, and a lack of content.