Google has begun a test of buying and reselling television commercials, according to reports from the Wall Street Journal, reports Search Engine Land.
The tests are apparently taking place in Concord, California and mimic the system Google put into place when it began selling print ad space. It buys time from the television station and then resells the spot time to one of its advertisers. That spot then appears within ordinary commercial breaks and appears no different to the viewer from any other commercial.

Advertisers secure their ad space through an auction system, but one that's overseen by people and not an automated system, since it's still early in the test period.

This test phase is the first time that Google's entry into the TV ad market has gone beyond statements of intent or in-house experimentation. Google has partnered with cable provider Astound Broadband for the test.