They’ve been expecting it for a while but Google’s first contract to sell TV ads is the worst nightmare imaginable for media agencies.
Media agencies plan and buy time and space on TV, in print and on the internet and their black arts have created multi-million dollar businesses.
But Google is now invading their patch with a deal to sell some ads on NBC universal’s cable network and, if it manages to increase NBC’s revenue or find new sources of same, the media agencies will be in trouble.
Worse still, Google is threatening to produce more accurate data on who watches the ads, something advertisers are always keen to see.
The agencies will be wondering how they can sabotage this one so expect complaints all round. But in their heart they’ll be hoping the experiment flops.