It's long been assumed that Google was going to have to go back to the drawing board and put a little more effort into its underwhelming Google TV offering. And those aren't our words. Companies like Logitech might be "enthusiastic" about Google's TV business, but the facts are in the figures—Logitech only generated $5 million in sales from its Google TV-based Revue set-top box in the fourth quarter of 2011, quite a drop from the $22 million in sales it pulled in 3Q. But little did we know that Google's first steps toward fixing up Google TV would be the surprise purchase of a company that's already well-versed in set-top box software and hardware. According to an announcement posted on the official website for SageTV, Google has acquired the company for an undisclosed amount.
"[As] the media landscape continues to evolve, we think it's time our vision of entertainment management grows as well," reads the announcement. "By teaming up with Google, we believe our ideas will reach an even larger audience of users worldwide on many different products, platforms and services. "
However, the acquisition means that SageTV's traditional software and hardware offerings have gone the way of the Laserdisc: The company has pulled its online store from its Website and only offers the aforementioned announcement in its place. An email announcement sent yesterday to the company's user base confirms that existing SageTV customers will still receive support for their products. As well, users will be able to interact with the company via community forums that will be left online throughout the Google transitioning.
So what's so special about SageTV? For starters, a quick integration by Google would allow the company's free TV software offering to benefit from features it currently lacks, including SageTV's ability to function as a DVR and media placeshifter. Beyond that, SageTV's announcement only hints at the kind of future that both companies envision in the living room: Open set-top software that developers can make awesome via the creation of all kinds of third-party addons.
"We've seen how Google's developer efforts are designed to stimulate innovation across the web, and as developers have played a core role in the success of SageTV, we think our shared vision for open technology will help us advance the online entertainment experience," reads SageTV's announcement.
If that idea sounds familiar, it should. Critics of Google TV often note that Google's endeavors in the living room should more closely mirror its successes in the hands: Specifically, Android smartphones and tablets. Like Android to phones, Google TV could find success were it to become one of the free, default software platforms for all sorts of hardware devices in the set-top market.
And SageTV might just give Google the tools and experience it needs to do so, in addition to Google's push for tighter integration of Android Apps and Market functionality into Google TV as a whole.
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