Google Gets Wired For Cable

BURLINGAME, CALIF. -

Google's shadow grew a bit longer on Monday.

The Internet kingpin said it plans to broker advertisements for some NBC Universal cable channels. But the company faces more obstacles than when it launched its initial advertising program: rivals are experimenting with more radical approaches and the Department of Justice may be gearing up to probe whether the search giant is engaging in anticompetitive practices.

The multiyear partnership between Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) and NBC is the first attempt by Google to aggressively go after TV ads. Last year the company began experimenting with an auction system for selling TV ads. Google plans to begin by handling adds for NBC channels such as MSNBC, Oxygen and Sci Fi.

As part of the deal, Google and NBC, which is owned by General Electric (nyse: GE - news - people ), will develop new metrics to help advertisers "gain access to viewership data at an unprecedented scale," the companies said in a statement. "With this data, advertisers can better understand what consumers are responding to and make real-time adjustments to their campaign to maximize their ROI."

Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed but the companies said they will "share in all the ad revenue and explore innovative ways to expand the partnership in the future, including adapting the platform to add local inventory."

Regulators are increasingly taking note of the Mountain View, Calif., company's growing dominance in online advertising in light of its recent ad pact with Yahoo! (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people ), which would give the companies more than 80% of the lucrative search-ad market. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the U.S. Justice Department has been deposing witnesses and issuing subpoenas that explore the implications of the deal. It has also hired Sanford Litvack, a former Disney (nyse: DIS - news - people ) vice chairman and one of the nation's top litigators, to review the findings and help determine if the government should challenge the proposed deal or even Google's own conduct in online advertising.