Washington Post To Introduce Interactive News Show On Google TV

Google TV has not lived up to its potential due in part to poor reviews during the computer-to-TV service’s nascent stages. Heck, we even got in on the fun here at Tubefilter. Some detractors highlighted the device’s lack of premium original content as a critical mark against it. Recent news tells us that Google is quite aware of this demerit and they seeking out ways to counter it. Last week, the Washington Post announced that it was debuting The Fold, a daily news program with interactive options, that will be available on Google TV and all tablets running the Android OS.

The Fold will air for 15 minutes each night and will provide a digital alternative to the Post’s widely circulated print and online journalism. What seems to make The Fold unique and ‘premium’ is its user-friendly interface, designed to appeal to the choice-conscious Google TV crowd. The program will be segmented, with each story viewable separately from the rest of the package. This allows impatient viewers such as myself to skip over the parts we don’t like (get on with it, Brian Williams!

) and go straight to ones we enjoy (now there’s a scoop!) In this way, each user gets a custom news program dedicated to his or her interests.

The Fold will become the signature program of PostTV, the Washington Post’s official app, which is not available for several popular devices such as iPad and Roku. Given that fact, will The Fold be able to help Google recruit a new batch of ‘cord-cutters‘? Hard to say. Several people (including commenters on this story) have noted that people probably won’t buy a Google TV over a Roku just because of one program, but at the same time, The Fold seems to be a reputable and unique news source that represents a step in the right direction for Sony.