Google, NBC Universal ink ad deal

SAN FRANCISCO: Internet search leader Google Inc. and NBC Universal said Monday they are teaming up to allow Google to sell advertisements on some of NBC's cable channels such as MSNBC, Oxygen and the Sci Fi network.

The partnership signals Mountain View, California-based Google's desire to sell ads in different places besides next to its search engine, and NBC's efforts to get access to advertisers who currently advertise online through Google but don't place any ads on TV.

It also illustrates the desire of both companies to capture more data on which TV ads are most popular among viewers, and how to find those people, an ability made possible because of Google's partnership with Englewood, Colorado-based Dish Network Corp., the second-largest satellite TV service in the U.S.

Through that partnership, Google can measure down to the second what viewers are watching by monitoring data flowing through the DISH Network's set-top boxes. That gives advertisers a valuable insight into which ads are working, and which ones are flops, and allows them to better target their ad campaigns.

NBC said Google will be allowed to advertise in some of the slots on the CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, Sci Fi and Sleuth and Chiller channels ``in the coming months,'' with a potential to expand to other channels in the future.

The companies said they will share all ad revenues from the partnership and are looking at ways to allow Google to sell ads locally, not just at the national level. NBC Universal is a unit of General Electric Co.