The issue at heart: Google has long required publishers to share a percentage of their ad inventory to be on Google TV. The policy change is just the latest example of something that has plagued Google for a long time: after growing Google TV into a major smart TV platform, Google has struggled to monetize it. Left out of the announcement was the fact that these TVs would be replacing Hisense-made TVs running Google TV. As a result, YouTube executives have shown little interest in Google TV, with some openly arguing that Google would be better off spending Google TV’s budget on YouTube instead. There are already signs that Google is rethinking its spending on Google TV: The Information first reported about budget cuts affecting Google TV in June.