• April 17, 2009

Google TV Ads Online made its debut Thursday to make it easy for advertisers to reach customers watching television.

Many full-length television programs are available online to Internet users. They appear in a variety of places, including Web sites of networks that originally broadcast them and on other sites specializing in video content, according to Geoff Smith, Google TV Ads product manager, in a blog post.

The tool lets advertisers place commercials into the ad breaks of TV programs watched online. It works in the same way as Google TV Ads: Advertisers can target specific programs and select their cost-per-thousand (CPM) bid.

Based on their targets, budget and bid, ads are inserted in the same program breaks that were designed for advertising when the programs first aired. Advertisers also have an option of pre-roll placement before the program begins, or post-roll, after the online presentation of the program ends.--Laurie Sullivan