TV stations not excited about Google's auctioning tool

Don't expect television stations to begin jumping for joy when Google's television ad auctioning tool becomes available. According to reports, executives are not thrilled that Google is encroaching on their area of expertise.

by Kristina Knight

"We've acknowledged publicly we're interested in pursuing TV," a Google spokesman said (via AdAge). "But we haven't disclosed any specific product direction. It's an area we're looking into."

U.S. television sales account for roughly $65 billion in sales every year. In January, CBS announced a pending deal that would allow Google to sell some of their radio inventory; that deal was also rumored to have been about television ad sales. To assist in their apparent move to radio and television sales, Google has hired former NBC executives Michael Steib and Jordan Hoffner.

Google would likely begin by selling "scatter", television ad inventory that is not sold ahead of time. The cost of such ads are negotiated and purchased on a quarterly basis, making it a good fit for auction-style buys.

Online auctioneer EBay is already in the television game with their Media Exchange model. If they enter the fray, Google would compete with them and would also have to compete with Microsoft to rebuild and automate the local television airtime platform.

One big obstacle for Google is the pending copyright complaints. Before they enter another advertising realm, experts say they much first address the complaints - by television stations - about copyright infringement on platforms like YouTube.