Google has reportedly been in talks with major media companies to stream television channels direct to consumers over the internet.
The idea is being seen as potential competition to US cable providers, such as Time Warner and Comcast, and could pose a threat to Sky and Liberty Media-owned Virgin Media.
Further reading From Kansas to Kettering: is Google Fiber heading for the UK? 'We expect to make money from Google Fiber' says Google Google named in suspected fibre 'tie-up' with Colt managed IT services
Google is already offering its Google TV platform in set-top box form, and has been bolstering its digital television offerings with its Google Fiber project, which is slowly being rolled out in selected US cities.
1Gbps data pipelines offered at prices intended to undercut the physical infrastructure competition, Google's path towards offering its own entertainment streams will conceivably be more difficult as progress will rely on the company striking deals with content companies to secure the licence to stream their content.
However, if Google takes control of the physical cables themselves, and makes Google Fiber a popular option for customers, this extra factor could conceivably provide leverage.
The strategy could see Google match the high prices of quality cable TV programming packages and make up the difference on selling its 1Gbps internet service to customers, or negotiate discounts for customers on account of the other advantages its self-contained data business could offer.
Recently, Google in the UK was linked to a "tie-up" with Colt, which owns a large number of fibre cable networks around Europe.
