Google to buy data from Nielson TV

Mountain View (CA) - Google will begin collecting data from Nielsen as it moves into the TV advertising market, marking what is expected to be the search giant’s biggest venture into syndicated data collection.

Under a closed deal with the data collection service, Google will become Nielsen’s newest big customer, allowing it to track viewer patterns and see demographic information of specific time blocks and shows.

It is a noteworthy move from Google because it is really the first significant cost the online giant will have for a data collection process. As most of Google’s advertising to date has been in the online market, it has relied heavily on its own internal data from Google searches.

The search giant has quietly but surely begun the transition process from existing exclusively in cyberspace to brancing out to other forms of media. One of its biggest steps right now is opening up a platform for selling and targeting TV advertisements.

"The relationship with Google...is a prime example of the ways Nielsen is embracing new technologies, platforms and relationships worldwide to serve clients more completely," said Nielsen Chairman David Calhoun in a prepared statement.