Google Expand TV Ad Service on Dish Network

Google said on Monday that its U.S. AdWords customers will be able to bid for TV-spots in the coming few weeks.

Google started the brokering TV spots last year with a limited number of advertisers as a strategy to move beyond selling text links on the Web, a business that accounted for a big percentage of its $16.6 billion in sales last year.

Google also introduced programs that automate the process of buying ads in newspapers and on radio.

Advertisers are able to buy spots of 15, 30, 45 or 60 seconds, by choosing the TV stations they want their ads to appear on and when they should run.

The Internet giant's technology also allows advertisers to see the percentage of viewers who watched the ads until the end.

The initial agreement Google made was to place ads on about 125 networks carried by EchoStar Communications Corp., now called Dish Network.

Dish Network is the second largest U.S. satellite broadcaster.

Google said that among the first advertisers when the program was first launched were Intel, E*Trade Financial Corp and 1-800-flowers.com Inc.