Fox may follow, an anonymous source tells Reuters. Either way, this is devastating news for Google TV. One of the platform’s main draws, I suspect, is the ability to watch any web show on the big screen. There’s still plenty of content on the Internet that isn’t created by a major network, but without the heavy hitters, Google TV has little chance of disrupting cable. It’s certainly less attractive for would-be cord cutters.

I’m only sort of worried that this unified assault on Google TV sets a bad precedent for all set-top boxes. Hulu’s been blocked on other platforms, such as Boxee and Android phones, but the action by individual networks suggests that they’re making a desperate stand to defend cable, which pays lucrative licensing fees to networks.

On the other hand, blocking Google TV could be a one-time thing. As Gartner analyst Van Baker pointed out to Reuters, Google’s primary business on the Internet, and all the platforms that deliver it, is advertising. Television networks rely on web video advertising for revenue, so while blocking Hulu might be an attempt to push people towards Hulu Plus subscriptions, blocking individual networks might be a way to keep Google out of television ad sales.

In other words, watch what happens when the Boxee Box arrives next month. If ABC, NBC and CBS disappear from that set-top, you’ll know the networks aren’t just terrified of Google, but of cord-cutting in general.

While I’m not one to dwell on personnel changes at entertainment companies, Zucker’s an interesting figure. As CNet points out, he’s notorious for giving tech companies a hard time over NBC content. Notably, NBC tried to get a cut of iPod revenue while negotiating  iTunes licensing of TV shows, and NBC is not taking part in the 99-cent show rentals Apple TV will offer. Zucker said that price would “devalue” the network’s content.

NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage was also terrible. Event feeds were unavailable online to people who didn’t have cable subscriptions, and major events were tape-delayed and kept offline to force primetime viewing.

But when I think of Zucker, I’m reminded most of his hard line against Boxee, which tried to use content from Hulu, the web video site backed by NBC, News Corp and ABC.

Boxee’s software, and soon-to-come hardware, pull video from around the web into a slick, TV-friendly interface. Its attempts to include Hulu caused an endless back-and-forth, as Hulu kept trying to thwart Boxee, and vice versa. When Congress was vetting Comcast’s proposed NBC acquisition last February, Zucker responded to a question about this little battle by calling Boxee “illegal.”

Then, Boxee chief executive and founder Avner Ronen picked Zucker’s argument apart. He noted that Boxee technically uses a web browser to access Hulu content, and serves up Hulu’s ads, making money for the site. In hindsight, NBC was likely setting a precedent for Hulu Plus, a $10 per month premium service, as the only way to access the site through the television.

I’m not naive enough to think that Zucker’s departure will suddenly make life easier for Boxee, Apple or any other company that peddles Internet TV, especially since Comcast has a vested interest in protecting the cable television business. According to MSNBC, Comcast Chief Operating Officer Steve Burke is likely to oversee the joint venture. Zucker’s tenure had a profound impact on what we can watch online, but I predict that NBC content will become even tougher for Internet TV companies to obtain.

Using an advanced authentication method, NBC Universal will require online viewers to prove that they subscribe to a cable, satellite or telecom subscription TV package. Even then, the customer’s service provider must agree to this deal with NBC Universal beforehand.

The report in Sports Business Journal says the authentication will be limited to live footage, while some archived footage will be available for free.

Though much of NBC’s coverage will appear over the airwaves (free to anyone with an HD tuner and antenna), the paywall is probably meant to placate service providers due to the coverage NBC spreads to its subscription channels, such as MSNBC. Without being privy to the interactions between the network and service providers, I can’t say outright that authentication is a boneheaded move on NBC’s part. It could just be a necessity in the crazy world of content licensing.

But there should be some option for non-subscribers to watch the games online, and it should be robust rather than a second-class medium. Look at what Major League Baseball is doing with its MLB.tv offerings: Picture-in-picture, live highlights, DVR, player tracking. These are luxuries that go far beyond what the TV can do, and in my opinion, they’re worth paying for.

Give me a menu of which games are happening right now, and let me open a few of them in separate frames. Give me reminders of when the next Curling match is set to air and let me watch later if I miss it. I want a clickable ticker packed with highlights from around Vancouver. Please don’t give me the same thing I could get on cable, but harder to watch. As a cable divorcee, I’d throw $20 on this hypothetical service for the duration of the games.

But these are fantasies, to be sure. Maybe NBC Universal will learn after it endures another year of subpar viewing numbers.