DirecTV, Google Partner on Ad Sales for 11 Channels

Google will work as the sales representative for several channels offered by DirecTV, the companies said Wednesday. The partnership is a step forward for Google’s effort to gain recognition as an ad seller in traditional media in preparation for a possible flattening out of Internet ad sales, media industry analysts said.

Google will sell ads through its Google TV Ads system on 11 channels sent to DirecTV subscribers. Satellite providers get 2-4 minutes of advertising per channel per hour, for which Google will serve as the sales representative, said Google. The channels are Bloomberg, Fox Business, Centric, Fuel, G4, Current, Ovation, Fit, Sleuth, Chiller and TV Guide, said DirecTV. Google, which has been selling ads for Dish Network since 2007, has been looking to increase its presence in the industry for several years. While the company doesn’t break out its TV ad sales, John Saroff, head of strategic partner development for Google TVs Ads, described it as a “growing and emerging” business for Google. The DirecTV contract may also provide an “opportunity for growth” further down the line and offers DirecTV a way to test Google’s service on a preliminary basis, said Saroff.

Google will offer a new set of advertisers who haven’t used TV yet, Saroff said. About 30 percent of the customers that buy TV ads from Google are “completely new to TV,” said Saroff. The system is similar to the process of purchasing online ads on Google Ads, both of which allow users to purchase advertising quickly over its online service. Google will also use its strength as a data collector and analyzer. “That kind of measurement can provide comfort to advertisers since a lot of inventory is unmeasured,” he said. Google will work with Kantar Media, which DirecTV is using to track set-top box data, to collect and analyze the data, Saroff said.

Google is leveraging its status for search and advertising to expand its business to other sectors where it’s less known, said analyst Jim Schaeffler of the Carmel Group. “Google realizes they have a business that is moving towards adolescence very quickly,” he said. “They are probably concerned that the business is going to mature and top out,” he said. “Now, they can go out to these companies and say ‘Hey, sure we are new, but look what we can do.’ That’s why they have been able to make progress. … Sure they're new to the advertising side, as related to DirecTV, but they have been around the advertising model now around a decade and are really good at it."

Its ability to handle and process enormous amounts of data will also help the company in a traditional advertising role, said Brad Adgate, senior vice president of Horizon Media. “Using analytics and algorithms to help them determine what direction to go in, there are certainly marketers that are very excited about that,” he said. That analytical ability “may push the ball forward into this whole area” of TV advertising, he said.