Google TV to launch in France later this year, following VOD launch

Google TV is now expected to launch in France in September with the introduction of two Android-based devices from Sony, according to a report in financial daily Les Echos.

According to the paper, Sony will launch a basic set-top priced at around €200 and a Blu-ray player priced at around €300.

According to Les Echos, both devices planned by Sony will give access to the Google Play Store via a dedicated button on the remote control. Sony France marketing director Stéphane Labrousse told the paper that the platform would launch with between 120 and 200 applications.

The devices could include voice recognition control, but offering recommendations based on browsing history, available in the US, will not be available on the French service, according to the paper.

Google TV may launch at around the same time in the autumn in France and in one or more other western European countries including the UK, Germany and Spain.

The news follows Google’s launch of video-on-demand movies on Google Play in France at the end of last week. The service launched with a few hundred titles including The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, Drive, Friends with Benefits and Insidious, and French titles including Les Bal des Actrices and La Grotte des Rêves Perdus.

Films are available for €2.99 or €3.99 for new releases and HD titles, available for viewing once in a 48-hour period over 30 days, with movies downloadable via an app to Android tablets and phones, and viewable via the Google Play site or YouTube via PCs.