Google’s Chairman Eric Schmidt has, as earlier rumours reported that he would, confirmed that Google TV will launch in the UK and other countries “early next year”. The confirmation was made at this year’s Mac Taggart Lecture at the Edinburgh Internation Television Festival.

The Google chairman talked for over an hour giving his views on the television industry, ways he would recommend fixing it, and Google’s plans to stay out of making their own content, suggesting that the service, which has been available in the US for over a year, will eventually come to the UK. 

“We are under no illusions that we can create content. We are good at creating platforms,” Schmidt said at the talk.  "We're no good at content. That's what you do. So we're going to help fund it."

Criticising YouView and it's chairman Lord Sugar, Schmidt used his talk to say that "Even if YouView launches next year it will still be late."

“I was watching The Apprentice recently and Lord Sugar says companies don’t need engineers,” commented the Google chairman. "Shall we check a few facts here?! I don’t think we’ve done to badly.” 

Instead Schmidt says that the industry and companies should ignore Lord Sugar and follow the Victorians by bringing engineers into every level of their company. 

Schmidt used the talk to pay tribute to Steve Jobs saying that the Apple chairman was the "Only person I've ever known who's actually been able to merge the two worlds completely of art and science”.

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