Google Extends TV Ad Program With DirecTV Partnership

Google has announced a partnership with DirecTV, allowing advertisers to buy national inventory on 11 networks carried by the satellite provider – including Bloomberg, Fox Business, Centric, and Fuel – through the search giant’s auction-based self-service TV ad platform.

According to Google, DirecTV is responsible for selling between two and four minutes of ads for every hour of programming it delivers, with the networks themselves selling the remainder. The arrangement will see DirecTV effectively hand off its inventory for those 11 networks to Google, which will now offer advertisers access to ads across all dayparts, including primetime.

Speaking with ClickZ, John Saroff, head of strategic partnerships for Google’s TV Ads product, said the intention was to help give online advertisers a taste of what TV has to offer. “Our bread and butter is bringing new advertisers to television – internet advertisers that have grown up with Google,” he said, adding that over 30 percent of advertisers currently using the product are new to TV advertising.

In 2007, Google agreed to a relationship with DISH Network through which it sells ads across 90 different networks. However, that relationship is non-exclusive, meaning the type and volume of inventory fluctuates, depending on negotiations with DISH.

DirecTV, however, has essentially agreed to subcontract all of its ad sales to Google for those 11 networks, representing a significant step forward for the fledgling product. “This is a very exciting day for us,” Saroff said, adding, “We hope to extend the relationship down the line, but it makes sense to start with a relatively small amount of inventory.”

Essentially, Saroff suggested the product has been pitched mainly at small to medium-sized businesses looking for an easy way to extend their marketing efforts. However, a lack of geographic targeting capabilities would appear to limit its appeal to local advertisers, as could the costs associated with producing ad creative. In 2009, an agency exec told ClickZ that most small businesses have little time, or the inclination to experiment with the medium, stating, “You need a professional.”

Read More: ClickZ

Council Proposes Web Content Guidelines

The Internet Content Syndication Council has released proposed guidelines for content syndication for its members– and ultimately the online media industry as a whole — to review.

The  group, which includes CBS, Reuters, Turner and the Associated Press, says it is making a bid to bolster Web content quality and strengthen the utility of the Internet.
 
The guidelines are aimed at countering the rise of shoddy, poorly sourced and edited content, often produced solely with search engines in mind. While not naming these companies directly, the ICSC’s push seems clearly aimed at companies such as Demand Media, Yahoo’s Associated Content and AOL’s Seed.com. Each churns out a large amount of enterprise or general-interest service content — mostly produced by low-paid freelancers.

The ICSC says the stakes are high, claiming “content mill” output is making the Web experience worse for average users. The group believes creators and publishers should work to preserve the utility of the Internet for users and advertisers alike.

To do so, the ICSC guidelines — geared toward informational content, not opinion or entertainment — focus on the importance of journalistic principles. For example, the guidelines encourage that formal editorial processes be used whether articles are produced by staff writers or freelancers. All work should be date stamped, and all corrections be clearly labeled. Plus, perhaps most controversially, the ICSC believes that writers’ credentials should be prominently displayed alongside their work.

Read More: AdWeek