NBC and NBCi Trade Ads, Promotion for Stake in Flooz.com

NBC and its Internet arm, NBCi, this week struck a deal swapping advertising on its TV network and promotion on Snap.com for equity in Flooz.com, an online gift currency site.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal makes Flooz.com the latest in NBC Interactive Media’s portfolio of 35 companies, many of which traded minority stakes for on-air promotion. The company’s other holdings include CNET, Talk City, iVillage, Telescan, 24/7 Media, TiVo, Wink Communications, Gemstar, and Intertainer.

Flooz.com allows users to send its gift currency to friends, family, and business associates via email, and they can then redeem it at Flooz.com partner e-tailers. Because this is an idea with a wide range of applications, NBC is looking at rolling out the Flooz.com across some of its other investments.

“We believe that the Internet currency sector is at the beginning of a huge growth cycle and Flooz.com is the leader in this area,” says Marty Yudkovitz, president of NBC’s Interactive Media Division. “The nature of the Flooz product makes this the ideal investment vehicle for NBC to create value between all of its interactive assets.”

The agreement calls for Flooz.com to receive on-air promotion across both the NBC Television Network and NBC’s owned and operated stations. Flooz.com TV spots, which feature spokesperson Whoopi Goldberg, began airing on NBC during the holiday season.

The online gift currency company has also inked a deal for preferred tenancy in the Snap Gift Certificate center of NBCi’s Snap, which will include an online promotional plan on Snap. Flooz.com will be marketed throughout the portal, including in Snap’s e-Card center.