While Google has proven time and time again that it can succeed outside of its standard realm of operations (Gmail, Google Earth, etc...) many within the marketing world are wondering if the engine's latest plan to tackle the world of television advertising puts them a bit out of their league.

According to the New York Post, the team at Google is "mulling" over ways to expand its advertising reach to television ad time.

From the article:

"We are always considering new ways to extend Google's advertising program to benefit our users, advertisers and publishers," a spokesman said. Google CEO Eric Schmidt was more open in an interview last week after the company reported blowout earnings, telling the Wall Street Journal that "it's certainly on the list" of projects.

The television networks, along with the media firms that buy ad time and space on behalf of advertisers, also vehemently reject the notion that buying a TV spot can be reduced to a computer-run auction.

"Most sellers don't want to put their inventory in someone else's control," said Rick Sirvaitis, the former head of GM Mediaworks, which bought ad space for the auto giant.

The idea of a Googlized contextual advertising option for television is an intriguing one. My brain pictures a sort of pop-up video approach to advertising during niche shows on some of the more radical channels like Spike TV, MTV and Comedy Central.

I'd say that in reality, there's probably a lot more talk than action going on here, but when it comes to Google, you never know.