NBC Universal and parent company Comcast have formed an effort to allow marketers to better target campaigns across NBC Universal's portfolio and expand video on demand addressability.

"NBCU+ Powered by Comcast" is designed to increase the effectiveness of media buys through consumer segmentation, advanced analytics and targeting, said Linda Yaccarino, president-advertising sales, NBC Universal.

The product will allow marketers to target ads by household in video on demand for NBC Universal national broadcast and cable inventory. Previously, the only addressable-enabled inventory available on Comcast VOD was the Comcast-controlled time on cable networks. And NBC Universal's formidable sales team will now begin selling the addressable ads, something it hasn't done before.

Household-level VOD targeting is available across Comcast's entire 20 million household footprint.

Ads cannot be bought at a household level for live TV, but the product will be used as a planning tool to make more optimized buys, Ms. Yaccarino said, marrying marketers' data with third-party consumer data and anonymized Comcast subscriber data. If a luxury car maker wants to target luxury car owners, for example, "NBCU+ Powered by Comcast" can help find areas with a high percentage of those consumers and send campaigns there.

"As our advertising partners are being challenged to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns, our ability to optimize and target our media beyond traditional demographics with scale is a unique offering that NBC Universal can now provide thanks to our cutting edge partnership with Comcast Spotlight," Ms. Yaccarino said.

Ms. Yaccarino noted there's no set inventory available and will be based on client interest and demand.

This announcement comes after Dish Network and DirecTV announced a partnership earlier in the week that combines their sales efforts for addressable TV advertising for political campaigns.