Google has added a Channels section to its ‘Chromecast with Google TV’ device and Google TV Streamer for watching live TV, though the latter still lacks BBC and Channel 4 content.
The new section on the Chromecast ’s Google TV interface shows the logos for BBC One and Two, as well as ITV 1 and 2, STV and Channel 5 (see screenshot right). Selecting one takes you to the show currently being broadcast live.
WHAT WE THINK
This is a welcome addition to the Chromecast, but it does serve to highlight the huge iPlayer-shaped hole in the TV Streamer. It’s hard to know whether Google or the BBC is to blame, but the onus should be on the former to sort it out. Over 14 million Brits sign into their iPlayer accounts every week. That’s a lot of people unlikely to ever buy the Streamer.