Google to sell TV ad time for NBC Universal

Google is partnering with NBC Universal to act as broker for TV advertising times on some NBC cable channels.

NBC Universal will offer advertising time from several of its cable networks for Google to sell through its Google TV Ads service as part of a multiyear advertising, research, and technology partnership, the companies announced Monday in a joint statement.

"With the addition of NBC Universal inventory, advertisers using the Google TV Ads platform can reach NBCU Cable's national audience and gain access to viewership data at an unprecedented scale," NBC Universal and Google said in a statement.

The partnership will focus on the Sci Fi, Oxygen, MSNBC, CNBC, Sleuth, and Chiller channels, with the possibility of adding more channels in the future, the companies said.

The Google TV Ads service, which launched in partnership with EchoStar Communications in May, can report second-by-second TV usage data, allowing advertisers to measure viewership of their ads more precisely.

"The Google TV Ads platform is making television advertising more accountable and measurable and we're pleased with our progress to date," Tim Armstrong, Google's president of Advertising and Commerce, said in a statement. "Our partnership with NBCU will help us bring the power of television to a broader set of advertisers as well as give our current advertisers increased reach through our system."

NBC Universal and Google also plan to work together to adapt the Google TV Ad service for use in local TV markets. They are also collaborating on custom marketing and research projects using Google TV Ads to survey audience trends.

Google officially entered the television ad business in April 2007 when it announced it was partnering with EchoStar to sell commercials over the Dish satellite broadcaster's 125 national programming networks. Under the EchoStar deal, advertisers use Google's AdWords automated auction interface to bid on ad spots. Advertisers can upload their TV commercials and select the desired time of day and channel, as well as choose regional or national area coverage.

Google announced last October that it was partnering with Nielsen to allow companies that buy its Google TV Ads to find out how many people actually watch the ads. The partnership gave Google access to Nielsen's demographic data from aggregated set-top boxes so advertisers can see which ads are effective and can get additional aggregate information about the viewers, such as age and gender, according to Nielsen.