Google extends into TV, signs deal with Dish Network

April 3, 2007 | Matt Marshall | Comments |

googledish.gifGoogle will announce tomorrow (Tuesday) a deal to deliver ads to Dish Network, the nation’s second largest satellite TV company, the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

This confirms rumors of such a deal we first mentioned at VentureBeat three weeks ago. The deal is significant because it extends Google’s empire to the huge $54 billion television market — and points to a new kind of ad: Since Dish is the nation’s leader in high definition and interactive TV programming, Google will eventually allow advertisers to target specific groups of viewers, based on information about the viewer demographics for each channel.

It follows a pilot test by Google to serve ads to subscribers of Astound Broadband, a cable provider owned by WaveDivision Holdings. From the WSJ:

Under an arrangement to be announced today, Google will sell TV ad spots through an online auction system, with advertisers bidding the amount they are willing to pay per thousand households that view each commercial. Google will send the commercials of the winning bidders to EchoStar, which will then insert them in an unspecified number of daily blocks in the TV programming it delivers to the roughly 13 million households that subscribe to its Dish service.

…Google plans to tell advertisers how many TV set-top boxes were tuned in to each commercial they ran, and charge based only on the number of set-top boxes where the commercial played. It additionally will provide advertisers data about whether users changed the channel during the commercial.

Google is relying on information collected from set-top boxes by operators such as EchoStar, which it says does not permit it to identify any specific subscribers. At least initially, Google is not matching commercials with the content of TV programs or showing ads to specific users based on previous viewing habits or other personal information. The Internet company says concern for user privacy will be a factor in any future efforts to target TV advertising more specifically.

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Matt Marshall is editor and CEO of VentureBeat. Follow him on Twitter at @mmarshall, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • IamNewton
    Every time I read about Google I keep getting that song stuck in my head. You know that Nas song "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)"

    Without the ability to click on a link to get to the advertiser I don't see much value in this for the average Joe who uses Google advertisement.

    It would be really useful if a user could bookmark an advertisement for later referencing when accessing Google search or Google mail. That of course would mean linking a person's Google account with their Dish account. I'm not sure if people would do this, but it would be an interesting feature.
  • I just don't get the value here- it doesn't make sense for content producers to cede control over ads or advertisers to get into a bidding war wihtout knowing where their ads will be placed. I think that in a few years we'll look back and realize that efficiency doesn't necessary equal quality.
  • james
    phil - I agree. there has to be a high cost to this selection process, no? I did find a good piece that makes the argument for it though, but it too ignores the costs of filtering all this information and tailoring the ads.
    http://eminent-truth.blogspot.com/2007/04/two-d...
  • Paul
    Actually, I think this is exactly what Google has mastered to great profit: spend a lot of energy creating a better-than-alternatives filter & selection capability, and then let it do the work.

    I'm not sure this is any different. They've got a bundle of data coming back from the cable company; correlating that data with the proper advertisement and then giving the user a Google Analytics-like display of their ad results seems much easier and simpler than many other things they've already done.

    I thin it's quite possible that users will voluntarily link their Dish account with their Google account, in some cases simply to see how much better it can get.

    As an example, take Amazon : initially, I was skeptical about allowing them to continue to track my browsing & purchasing, and I would only log in when necessary. Now, I login voluntarily and all the time to see what revealed preferences they will find for me based on their data trolling. Am I worried about privacy or data theft? Yeah, some.
  • "I thin it’s quite possible that users will voluntarily link their Dish account with their Google account, in some cases simply to see how much better it can get. "

    I would, simply for one reason, localization. You offer me security and one place to hold everything, I am there! I am tired of all these accounts I have..maybe Google should tap into the health industry and figure that one that..this is the best http://www.squidoo.com/Dish-Network-Hack, its been in front of us this whole time, we call it GOOGLE.