With a seemingly ever-increasing number of cable and streaming services, simply figuring out where to watch that one live event or show has become its own challenge. So in an effort to help cut down on the noise, Google is upgrading Google Search with some new features to help you find live sports, shows, and movies.
For fans of the NBA and MLB, finding a game will be as simple as typing something like, “Where to watch the Clippers game” into Google Search. From there, Google will present a list of TV channels currently hosting the action. If you just search for something like “Dodgers game,” alongside Google’s typical results—which includes info like live scores, a team’s schedule, and current standings—there will also be a new “Live on” button that should surface various viewing options.
While Google’s new search upgrades only work for basketball and baseball for now, Google say it plans to add more leagues in the future. Furthermore, while Google is mostly surfacing live TV channels at the moment, the company also hopes to include data that highlights more digital streaming options “soon.”
As for regular live TV shows and movies, following the new recommendation tool added to Search last year, Google is adding a new carousel of content that displays live feeds from various cable and broadcast providers. These feeds should be relatively up to date, so if you’re looking for something that’s going on right now, there’s a good chance it will be featured in the carousel.
And when you search for shows on your smartphone using phrases like, “what to watch” or “good shows to watch,” Google Search will provide info for both live TV and streaming options. On top of that, Google will even differentiate between content that’s currently live and upcoming programming using the “On TV now” and “On TV later” headers, so if you’re trying to plan out a night of binge watching, you can figure out which shows you might want to watch first.
While Google’s update to Search might not totally take the frustration out of finding where to watch live sports or movies (especially for cord-cutters who may not have cable), it’s nice to see Google Search adapt better to our increasingly connected lives.