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Google's DoubleClick To Tackle Microsoft's Silverlight And The Olympics

Microsoft's Silverlight player is about to get a boost in advertising power from Google. Using its DoubleClick ad servers, Google can now push advertising into Silverlight videos, and NBC Universal will be using it to power its online 2008 Olympics coverage.

You certainly can't blame NBC for taking every opportunity to capitalize on its upcoming Olympic coverage. Not only will it be offering constant coverage via television, but it is offering mobile video and, of course, online video.

NBC has chosen Microsoft's Silverlight technology to provide the engine behind its online Olympic offering. Thanks to Google's DoubleClick, it can get some advertising dollars to back it all up.

According to Google, NBCOlympics.com will be one of the first sites to open Silverlight 2 content to advertisers with DoubleClick In-Stream. The solution carves out new video inventory across 2,500 hours of video content running as part of NBC's Olympics coverage.

DoubleClick In-Stream is a video ad-serving solution used by online publishers to deliver new advertising experiences into Flash, Real Media, Windows Media, and now Silverlight 2 video players.

In a press release, NBC gushed about the new capabilities. "With hundreds of advertisers, multiple platforms, and large site traffic spikes, we needed to work with a partner that could provide an integrated, scalable, robust solution," said Steven Gold, VP of sales planning and operations for NBC Universal Digital Media. "Thanks to DoubleClick In-Stream's new support for Silverlight 2, we are able to monetize our groundbreaking online video coverage on the same platform we already use for display and mobile advertising. This lets our sales and operations teams work together really efficiently."

As a fan of the Olympic games, I expect to follow a lot of events online. While I can't say I'll be thrilled to sit through advertising spots, I realize that the coverage has to be paid for somehow. Looks like this tangle of technology is how NBC will do it.

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