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NBC U Partners with PRN to Sell Ads in Grocery Chains

NBC Universal has steadily been expanding into the out-of-home market, partnering with a number of providers to sell ads and/or provide content on various networks.

Most recently, NBC U has reached an agreement with Premier Retail Networks in which NBC U will sell package deals, bundling time on its network with space on PRN’s Supermarket Checkout TV, writes MediaPost.

Supermarket Checkout TV (pdf) has a presence in more than 1,000 stores, including chains such as Shop Rite and Albertson’s, and NBC U said the deal with PRN will yield 45 million impressions a year. More details of the deal, including ad specifics, are expected to be announced later this week.

NBC U will also be selling time on video screens that will be found in PATH trains that travel between New York and New Jersey, though a deal has yet to be signed.

Other content and ad deals NBC U has been engaged in includes programming and sales efforts NBC U is providing for screens in Chicago and New York taxis. In New York, NBC U has screens in 475 cabs, while in Chicago, its programming is running, in conjunction with Clear Channel Taxi Media, in about 55 cabs.

Finally, NBC U has, for the last year, been partnering with VST Media Network to offer programming at gas pumps. The partnership covers 500 pumps in four markets in which NBC has an O&O presence: Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and San Diego.

Jay Ireland, the recently departed head of NBC U Television Stations who is now with parent GE, says that NBC U is expanding beyond traditional television spots to diversify and expand. He categorizes out-of-home as a “huge opportunity.”