Google/Echostar TV Ad Venture, Measurable ROI

Google to Sell EchoStar Satellite TV Ads  Annotated

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google Inc. will sell and select some of the ads shown to EchoStar Communications Corp.'s 13.1 million satellite TV subscribers, marking the online search leader's latest effort to extend its marketing muscle beyond the Internet.

Both Google and Englewood, Colo.-based EchoStar are betting their partnership will create new advertising opportunities by making it easier for small businesses to get commercials on TV.

The automated system for TV ads mirrors Google's Internet advertising network with one key difference.

Google's Internet ads are linked to specific terms entered into its search engine or the content displayed on a Web page. Google's TV ads won't get quite as personal because they will be targeted more broadly at specific demographic groups, regions and programs on one of the Dish Network's 125 satellite channels.

Each day, Google will analyze anonymous data culled from the set-top boxes of the Dish network subscribers and only bill advertisers for the segment of the audience that watched a commercial a designated amount of time. Desai declined to specify the minimum amount of time that an ad must be watched to justify a charge.