• The Wall Street Journal et al., Wednesday, August 11, 2010 2:03 PM

Cable TV, meet Google. Further expanding its horizons, the search giant just entered into an ad partnership with DirecTV, which will let it sell ads on some cable networks carried on the top satellite TV provider. Per the deal, Google should be able to sell ads -- including during prime time -- on channels including Fox Business, Bloomberg, Fuel and TV Guide.

"The partnership comes as Google continues to look at diversifying the media through which it sells ads," reports The Wall Street Journal. "The Internet search giant sells ads online, but it has also tried its hand at radio for a few years but exited that business in February 2009, saying it didn't make the impact the company had hoped for."

"This is one of the big partnerships Google TV Ads has been waiting for," according to paidContent. "The deal is still fairly limited, covering only 11 channels on DirecTV's system ... But it is an important step and a major endorsement for Google TV Ads, which has been fighting an uphill battle to get networks' ad inventor."

Google calls its TV ad program "an online marketplace that makes it easy for anyone to buy and measure national cable television advertising."

In a blog post, Mike Steib Google's director, Emerging Platforms, says with the DirecTV deal -- along with its existing deal with rival satellite TV provider Dish Network -- Google TV Ads will now be able to reach as many as 30 million households through their set-top boxes.

As PC Magazine notes, "Google aready [sic] has ad relationships with Dish Network, NBC Universal, Hallmark Network, Bloomberg Television, Game Show Network, Outdoor Channel, and CBS College Sports."

In May, Google revealed its plans for GoogleTV -- an on-screen search box that allows viewers to look through live programs, DVR recordings and the Web.

"Although Google TV Ads use the metrics that Google's online AdWords business does, Google advertisers set a budget and then try to match that with available spots across different channels and times," according to PC Mag. "Google provides tools to match advertisers interested in attracting customers interested in hiking, for example, with viewers of the Outdoor Channel."

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