• Reuters, Tuesday, April 17, 2007 10:45 AM

Besides adding DoubleClick to its online ad repertoire, Google has also struck ad delivery deals with EchoStar and Clear Channel, two major holders of offline inventory. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has also been on damage control.

Indeed, it's become standard procedure for Google to publicly reassure its partner/competitors the company has no intention of encroaching on their territory following a significant new partnership or acquisition. "Google is a new phenomena. It does not replace radio and television," Schmidt said yesterday at a National Association of Broadcasters conference.

As ever, he stressed the benefits of befriending Google for media sellers, maintaining that the Web giant's entry into the business would deliver incremental ad revenue to broadcasters, rather than steal from it. "If our technology can bring more advertisers to radio, that is a good thing," he said.

Schmidt's appearance before the broadcasting community came just a day after the company announced an agreement to sell a guaranteed portion of Clear Channel's 30-second spots across its 675 radio stations in major U.S. markets. The idea is to extend radio advertising to Google's massive local advertiser base. A few weeks ago, Google announced a similar deal with satellite TV provider EchoStar.

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