- Anthony Crupi

NEW YORK Google TV Ads has landed another network partner in Ovation, in a deal that will allow advertisers to leverage the search giant’s auction-based system to buy time on the indie cable channel.

Starting Oct. 2, clients logging on to the Google TV Ads interface will be able to bid on Ovation inventory across all day parts. Google’s proprietary search algorithms allow for more targeted, contextual buys, as advertisers can use the service to hunt for program titles and genres that are inherently relevant to their own brands.

As a further incentive, clients pay only for viewers who tune in to a Google TV-enabled ad for five seconds or more.

While Google TV Ads hasn’t gained traction among the major TV networks, it has landed partnerships with a clutch of NBC Universal cable channels, including CNBC, MSNBC, Oxygen, SyFy, Chiller and Sleuth. Other nets that are kicking the tires on the system are Hallmark Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS College Sports and GSN, the latter having signed on with Google TV in late August.

Ovation reaches 33 million subscribers and is projected to be in 37 million homes by the end of the year. Given its limited penetration, the network does not write guarantees based on Nielsen ratings data.

Along with PBS and certain local cable access channels, Ovation is one of a very few destinations for arts programming. The network’s upscale audience makes it a good match for the Web-based service, said Matt DelRe, partnership manager, Google TV Ads.

"Ovation TV’s audience fits perfectly with a large segment of the demand we’re seeing in our system,” DelRe said, by way of announcing the deal. “We’re looking forward to delivering new budgets, new advertisers and new insights to Ovation.”

See also:

"Google Turns to Direct Response TV"

"Can Google Crack the TV Market?"

Nielsen Business Media