I Want My GTV?

It's doubtful that Dire Straits would pen an ode to Google's new video search capabilities.  Run this search, for example, and you get gripping images like:

Still, as Chris Gaither at the Los Angeles Times reminds us today, Google has very good reason to be tip-toeing into the video waters:

Google Video won't play video clips — yet. By initially taking a conservative approach with the service, analysts said, Google appears to be showing off what's possible in video search while trying to avoid scaring television executives who fear that the Internet will siphon away viewers.

Eventually, though, Google will try to get permission to show clips. That could spur a broader move to put TV programs online, much as Apple Computer Inc. made music downloads legitimate through its iTunes Music Store, analysts said.

"It's their effort to demonstrate to the studio bosses that they want to work with them," said Charlene Li, an analyst with Forrester Research.

Mostly, what this reminds us is that despite the P2P battles (largely exacerbated and encouraged by really bad federal and state legislation), smart companies like Google, Apple and Yahoo!are actively working with and courting their content counterparts in Southern California.  This irony is back in the Napster wars (circa 1999), policymakers said they would watch from the sideline as long as the tech and content industries got together to find common ground. They are now.