Google chief to TV execs: Mind digital gap

GervaisSchmidt EDINBURGH -- An impressive lineup of stars, including Ricky Gervais, mingled with producers and suits at the 36th Edinburgh Television Festival, which wrapped Aug. 28, but with Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt on hand to deliver the keynote MacTaggart lecture, the elephant in the room was how the second digital revolution that connects TV to the Web is certain to change the medium.Schmidt, the event's first MacTaggart lecturer in nearly 40 years not to hail from the world of TV or conventional media, told delegates that Google was a friend, not a foe."We're not your enemy and we want to help. We don't have all the answers, but we do have some insights into where things are headed," Schmidt said. "We want to work together and support you in the transition."The Google topper confirmed that Google TV would bow in Europe next year, with Blighty a top priority.To date, Google TV has made little impression in the U.S., but once it becomes commonplace for TV sets to be connected to the internet, industryites believe that another wave of disruption to traditional networks is inevitable.Following a question-and-answer session, the Google topper cautioned that TV networks needed a digital revenue plan; if not, tech companies would take the spoils.With the U.K.'s connected TV service, YouView, backed by all the main networks, already way behind schedule and not due to bow until next year, Schmidt's words need to act as a wake-up call to Edinburgh delegates, accord to one Edinburgh attendee."Make no mistake, Google isn't their friend, it's a huge competitor," observed Jurgen Heyn, a German regulator and one of the few non-Brits who made the trek to the Scottish capital.Others took up the refrain."There are already clues to what a connected future might look like," said David Graham, who runs U.K. consultancy Attentional. "Netflix is starting to commission original content, while YouTube (owned by Google) gets stronger by the day. Another sign of the future is the scale of piracy among young people."Graham predicted that Google TV will evolve into a serious competitor to conventional networks by offering a cornucopia of consumer choices available globally.During the lecture, Schmidt was full of praise for the high quality of U.K. broadcasting, but attacked the British education system for failing to invest in science and engineering. During the question-and-answer session, Schmidt noted a similar failure to teach technological pursuits in the U.S., and added, "Unless the U.S. and U.K. fix their education systems Asia will beat us." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com