Here’s a link to the details of the deal.  An interesting thing discussed in this article is how selling ad time/space via an auction/bid system was abandoned.   I’m glad to see that commonsense reins — tailor ads to customers rather than pushing what may be irrelevant ads to the largest possible audience.   A bid system wastes everyone involve’s time, talent, and money.   I wonder if they will be able to track conversion rates.  As I think about this, it brings to mind the “Mercenaries” video game ad (“Oh, no, you didn’t!”).  It’s very catchy and competely hilarious.  I’ve seen it many times and have yet to skip it because I like to sing along to it.  However, I have no inclination to buy the game based on that commercial.  Rather I’m waiting for some game reviews from trusted sources to come out.  It did, however, make me aware of the game, which I guess it good enough.  Going back to the main topic, it should be interesting to see what becomes of this partnership.  Will we see more local and revelent commericials on NBCU cable channels?  Will we be more likely to watch those commericials and act?  What new methods will they come up with to track advertising performance?  What new methods will they come up with to serve local and relevant commercials … hmm … very interesting …