What’s on TV tonight? Google’s bringing live TV listings straight to Search

By Christian de Looper April 20, 2016

google mobile search ridesharing — Nerify

Looking for something to watch? Instead of turning your TV on and scrolling through badly designed TV listings, you’ll soon be able to simply search for something on Google.

Google today revealed that it would soon be adding the feature to Search, allowing you to search for live TV listings without even having to turn on your TV.

To tell Google what’s at your disposal, you’ll be able to click on the small “Edit provider” button, which Google will use to offer personalized results. Presumably it will also include over-the-air TV channels. All this is in addition to the info for movies and TV that it already offers, with cast information, plot summaries, air dates, and trailers.

The move to offer information about TV shows and movies puts Google in direct competition with the likes of IMDb, which has long been a go-to for cast information and plot summaries.

“… coming soon, Google Search will have live TV listings,” said Daniel Alegre, president of global partnerships at Google, in a blog post. “So now when you’re looking for The Big Bang Theory, we’ll not only show you the apps and sites where you can find the latest episode, but also show which channel you can turn your TV to later in the evening or week to catch it live.”

As you can see, there’s no word yet on when the listings will be available through Search beyond “soon.”

Apart from the more user-based announcement, Google also gave an update on its ad platform, DoubleClick. According to Google, DoubleClick will be getting better at targeting demographics when it comes to live TV. Google will also be automating some of the work for choosing which ads to play during TV breaks, ensuring that “two automotive ads don’t appear in the same commercial break.” Who wants to see one car ad after the other? Not me!

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Christian de Looper

Contributor

Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…

Audio / Video

Apple Music Sing brings karaoke singalongs to iPhones, Apple TV

Apple Music Sing.

Apple wants you to sing like everyone's listening with its new Apple Music Sing feature, a karaoke mode that works with the music streaming service's popular lyrics experience.

Available later this month on iPhone (11 and later), iPads (third-gen and later), and the 2022 model of Apple TV 4K (not earlier models, for some reason) to really max out the karaoke experience in living rooms, Apple Music Sing will be incorporated right into the Apple Music app, giving you the option to use a slider to control the volume of the vocals in Apple Music's song library so you can sing along. With the slider, you can tweak the volume to either blend your voice with the singer's or drop them out completely to go solo. Background vocals are also viewable independently from the main vocals for budding backup singers to follow more easily, and a Duet view separates multiple singers' lyrics on opposite sides of the screen.

Entertainment

Philo: Everything to know about the live TV streaming service

Philo TV screenshot

Cutting the cable cord isn't necessarily cheaper than paying for cable anymore. Many top streaming services offer massive channel lineups compared to cable, but after paying for them (and your internet connection), you may just be breaking even.

But do cord cutters really need extensive channel offerings? Philo, a live TV streaming service that's a competitor to Sling TV and other live TV streamers, believes the answer is no.

Entertainment

Hulu with Live TV vs. Sling TV: Which streaming service is right for you?

Sling TV DVR

Live TV streaming services can offer a great alternative to traditional cable and help you cut the cord. Besides offering a lot of on-demand content, you can also catch up with sports games, your afternoon soap opera, or talk shows. Things can get pretty confusing when you are trying to figure out which live TV service to go with, though. Two of the more popular options are Hulu with Live TV versus Sling TV. We will go over all the details in this article to help you figure out if one of these live TV services is right for you.
What is the content like on each?

A streaming TV service isn't worth a dime if you can't watch what you want. Thankfully, both Hulu with Live TV (also known as Hulu + Live TV) and Sling TV will let you view many of your favorite channels, but they each work a little differently.
Hulu with Live TV
Although this pricing plan will change in December 2022, currently, Hulu with Live TV only has one primary subscription option, which contains almost everything in its catalog. Most customers can expect to find the four major networks -- ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC -- represented via their local affiliates (though this varies by region), as well as a number of major cable channels such as FX, USA, and TNT, 24-hour news networks such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, and sports channels such as ESPN and Fox Sports 1. The actual channel lineup varies by location, so if there's one channel that's make-or-break for you, check Hulu's listings for your region before signing up.