• by May 2, 2008

Google has taken its TV ad-buying service, Google TV Ads, out of beta and opened it up to all U.S. advertisers--allowing businesses to reach up to 13 million Dish Network households via any of its 94 cable networks, on a national, market-by-market or strictly local basis.

To kick off the service, Google said it will cover up to $2,000 in costs for users to create their own TV commercials through its Ad Creation Marketplace. The campaigns must begin airing by June 30, and the advertiser must spend at least $2,000 weekly on its buy for four consecutive weeks.

Advertisers using Google TV Ads launch their buys directly from their Google AdWords accounts. They can target their campaigns by markets, networks, dayparts, specific programs, and even program content, such as "fashion" or "health."

The service can also offer suggested plans based on desired demographics.

Google TV Ads has been testing with invitation-only advertisers since June. It uses an auction model for payment, and provides analytics via set-top-box data, including data such as average seconds tuned per impression and the number of people who watched the commercial from beginning to end.