Google TV Will Let Advertisers Select Programs, Produce Own Ads

Google TV is quietly rolling out several new functions to its television ad auction service, including allowing advertisers to bid on specific shows and offering self-serve tools for small advertisers who want help creating their own ads. The new features were described by head of TV sales, Long Ellis, at a meetup Google hosted at its NYC headquarters for the NY Advertising Club Monday night.

Ellis said that within three weeks, Google TV would allow advertisers to bid on specific cable shows, rather than buy on the basis of time slots and demographics across Echostar's Dish Network (DISH). In addition, Ellis said Google is also building a "self-serve platform" to allow advertisers to produce their own ads, and repeated Google's refrain that it is not getting into the agency business.

"We are trying to push the envelope; our philosophy is not just to automate what exists but creating technology to make it better," Ellis said.

Google TV has a deal with Echostar and dozens of cable networks to sell ad inventory across Dish Network's 14,000 subscribers and is in the midst of a charm offensive to gain the trust of cable networks in order to expand its distribution.

See Also: Google: A TV Player In 3-5 Years
Google TV Ready To Add Cable Partners