It must be comforting to Google execs when they check the news and piggybacked on a story about the pitfalls of their advertising model is a story about Time Warner Cable's plan to basically copy the auction-based model.

Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Glenn Britt was at least honest about where the idea came from. In an interview with Reuters he said, "We can start doing what Google does -- auctioning off spots." Britt said the new approach to advertising would be made possible by new software used in the cable company's set-top boxes as well as highly detailed usage information on some of its customers. The plan is presented as a possible solution to the impending threat of IPTV services being rolled out by the telecoms. While the auctioning of targeted ad spots may increase ad revenue, it's not going to stop customers from migrating to IPTV. Not to mention the fact that Google may enhance the IPTV experience in the near future. — Brian Ward

Go to Google story from CNET News.com
Go to Time Warner story from Reuters
Go to story from the Tech Confidential Blog