Google is battling for the centerpiece of your family this holiday season – your connected TV

Now that Chromecast with Google TV is finally getting personalized user profiles, and the Google TV app is gaining a built-in remote control, it seems that Google is finally taking things seriously. After many failed or floundering years of attempting to make Android TV successful, it looks like the company has finally struck gold. However, that hasn’t come without a significant amount of work on their part.

According to The Information, Sundar Pichai, Google and Alphabet’s CEO, has made it clear that connected TVs are a “top priority” and that the aforementioned Android TV pushes were only “half-hearted”. Additionally, he states that Google is paying partners $10-$15 per unit to bake Google TV directly into their users’ experience. Roku, on the other hand, only pays its partners half that at $7-$8 per unit, so clearly, Google is dead set on taking the space from its competitors.

Stadia also recently came to the big screen with Google TV support, and the company is also looking to inject free, ad-supported streaming channels into your experience, so there’s that. Through and through, it’s clear that the tech giant has been hard at work and has no intention of stopping now. Google TV is quickly becoming the biggest household name in streaming, and that’s exciting.

A major marketing ad push for the holiday season shows Google’s incredibly ambitious efforts to familiarize millions of users with basic features of the service such as Watchlist, voice searching, recommendations, and more. There’s no doubt that come Christmas and the New Year, a much larger adoption rate will be prevalent where these ads air, given their relatable, warm, and personal touch.

My only hope is that I won’t feel dirty for using Google TV in 2022 knowing that its creators have basically bullied its competition in order to gain that level of success and recognition. As I’ve previously stated though, we’ll keep you informed as the Roku situation continues to unfold. In the meantime, don’t make your living room TV the center of your household and interactions, despite how cool Google TV is – instead, prioritize deeper, more intentional connections and restore your family’s bond as you wrap up your year!