• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, January 28, 2009

Ad sales can make strange bedfellows. While fiercely competing for subscribers, Comcast and Dish Network will embark on a joint sales venture. The cable operator will serve as a de facto rep firm for Dish. 

Under the deal, Comcast, through its Spotlight group that sells for Comcast systems in 85 markets, will sell spots on regional sports networks that Dish offers in seven DMAs. Dish has rights to sell two minutes an hour on those channels.

The deal is similar to one reached last year in which National Cable Communications, a large spot cable rep firm, is selling inventory on RSNs carried on DirecTV in nine markets. NCC is involved in the Comcast-Dish relationship, too; it will sell to national advertisers looking to buy in multiple Dish markets.

The agreement gives the satellite operators something they didn't have before: DirecTV and Dish now have access to sales forces that allow them to monetize locally focused channels. For ad buyers, the agreements provide an opportunity to reach satellite customers on a local level via RSNs for the first time.

In the battle to sell TV service, Comcast and Dish compete aggressively for new subscribers, looking to peel existing ones away from one another.

With the Dish arrangement, Comcast will sell spots on 10 RSNs in the Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston and San Francisco markets.

Michael Finn, vice president of ad sales for Dish, said: "We are excited to work with the Comcast Spotlight team to simplify this process and reach as many subscribers as possible."