Google has launched its £30 Chromecast TV dongle iacross Europe and Canada this week, taking on the likes of Apple TV, Roku and Sky’s Now TV.
The additional 11 Chromecast markets are: Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
The device plugs directly into a television’s HDMI port and allows supported apps on Android and iOS devices to stream content to a TV wirelessly.
At launch in the UK these include YouTube, BBC iPlayer and Netflix. Amazon’s Prime Instant Video is not included.
An icon on the screen of an iPhone, iPad or Android device gives the user an option to have video play back on TV via Chromecast, leaving the device usable by other apps.
Chromecast has been available for a number of months in the United States already.
New ad opportunities
Chromecast supports resolutions up to Full HD but, speaking to Wired.co.uk at a London launch event, Google’s Suveer Kothari — director of global business development for Chromecast — said of 4K Ultra HD content that it was “something [Google is] looking at”.
On the advertising side, Brightcove is offering a digital ad insertion tool for app publishers who want to integrate geo-targeted ads into Chromecast video streams- with the prospect of ad revenue an extra draw for developers on the nascent Google platform.
‘Birghtcove Once’ lets Chromecast publishers can deliver a television-like experience, with personalised ads stitched directly into the video stream.
Additionally, with Brightcove Once UX, Chromecast publishers can incorporate interactive video ads, insert ad overlays in video streams, hide controls to prevent fast-forwarding through ads and more. Brightcove Once also captures detailed analytics so publishers can assess content and ad performance in real time.