Google’s partnership last week with NBCU marked a huge leap forward for the search giant’s television advertising business. The multi-year advertising partnership gives Google permission to sell a portion of NBC Universal’s advertising inventory. But the deal seems less about Google’s expanded reach and more about the search giant getting the opportunity to show if it can turn the business upside down.

Working with NBC Universal gives Google access to inventory on channels like Oxygen, MSNBC, CNBC, and Sci-Fi. But according to Ad Age, NBCU views the partnership as a small experiment that could help the media company transition into a multiple model for selling its advertising.

Read more: wired.com