VentureBeat: Google allies with Nielsen, edging further into $54 billion TV market

Google allies with Nielsen, edging further into $54 billion TV market

By Matt Marshall 10.24.07

Google said it is working with Nielsen to help produce demographic information for TV advertisers, one more way Google is muscling its way into the lucrative $54 billion TV ad market

Google sells TV commercials on programming from EchoStar Communications, and it has been negotiating to sell ads for other TV broadcasting companies.

Google said it would mix the TV set-top box data it gets from its advertising campaigns with the audience measurement information collected by respected Nielsen via its audience panels.

The TV ad market is much larger than the online search ad market Google currently dominates and Google’s pursuit of TV advertising isn’t surprising.

Google’s says its platform, called Google TV Ads, can report second-by-second set-top box data so advertisers can evaluate the “reach” of an ad and only pay for actual set-top box impression. Advertisers can then make near real time changes to their TV campaigns.

The move comes after speculation that Google would try to compete with Nielsen. The alliance seems to make sense, because Nielsen is such an established player and will lend credibility to Google’s audience measurement efforts.