Google Search is getting live TV listings

Google is using its technology to help cable networks by making it easier for viewers to find their shows and making it easier for the networks to monetize them. The company announced that it will be including live TV listings right in its search engine, as well as offering more advertising opportunities for broadcasters through its DoubleClick ad platform.

Appearing at this year’s National Association of Broadcasters Show, Google president of global partnerships Daniel Alegre presented network executives and distributors with new solutions to help in the “rebirth of TV.”

Alegre said that in the past year, searches for shows and films on mobile devices have increased by more than 55 percent. He added that while Google has a way for viewers to watch shows on mobile apps from broadcasters via Google Play, this feature needs to be enhanced.

Without stating a specific timeline, Google said that its search engine will include TV listings that not only show the apps where you can watch a particular show or film, but also the channels where it will be broadcast.

Beyond that, Google is helping media companies better personalize ads for viewers on its DoubleClick platform. This will work for both live and on-demand TV, as well as across pay-per-view and programmatic broadcasts. The technology has already been used during the Rugby World Cup Finals that aired on France’s TF1 network and the Republican presidential debates on Fox News.

Alegre also announced that DoubleClick’s publisher offering will soon “seamlessly enforce the level of control that has been firmly established in TV.” This means that competitive separations will be enacted so ads from companies in the same industry and space won’t run during the same commercial break on TV.

New TV partners have also been added to the advertising mix, joining the likes of the AMC Network in the U.S. and Globo in South America. Starting today, Google has added MCN, Roku, and Cablevision to its list of partners, and they’ll be using DoubleClick for Publishers to serve ads and help shows “monetize cross-screen TV and video content.”

To strengthen content creation, Google revealed that it has partnered with Autodesk to establish a new rendering solution — called Maya for Google Cloud Platform ZYNC Render. This tool will enable artists to create content for both the big and small screen using tools they’re familiar with, while moving the rendering process to the cloud.