Demands by broadcasters to be paid for allowing their online video to be seen through Google’s new TV platform represents a “misunderstanding” of  online TV, a Google executive has said.

US networks ABC, NBC and CBS have all blocked full online episodes of their shows from being accessed through Google TV’s Web browser since the product became available last month.  Rishi Chandra, Google TV’s lead product manager, likened the broadcasters’ payment demands to a network demanding fees from Microsoft so video would work on its Internet Explorer browser.

Chandra also said that although Google TV would not pay to access online shows, another Google subsidiary, YouTube, could extend its advertising revenue-share model to the living room.

“The way we would pay for content is through a similar mechanism that we pay for content through YouTube,” Chandra said. “This is the difference between Google TV and YouTube. YouTube is a service. Google TV itself is literally just a platform.”

Chandra said it’s up to content providers to decide how much to charge consumers. He said Google TV is meant to supplement the cable and broadcast TV business model by adding Web access.  However, the broadcasters and other content owners think appearing via Google might encourage cord cutting.

Chandra added that Google TV is preparing to provide access to Hulu Plus, the $10-per-month online video subscription plan that allows users to access the back episodes of many current TV shows from News Corp’s Fox, NBC Universal and Disney ‘s ABC

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