NBC, JCDecaux in Ad Venture

NBC Universal, which knows something about in-home advertising, is moving outdoors.

The media giant said Wednesday that it had joined forces with France-based outdoor advertising company JCDecaux to bid for a 20-year contract worth about $1 billion to design, build and install bus shelters, newsstands and public toilets in New York.

As part of the proposal, the joint venture would handle all the outdoor advertising connected with those structures.

JCDecaux owns 70% of the venture -- called NBCDecaux -- and NBC owns the rest.

Four other companies also submitted bids by Tuesday’s deadline, and a decision on which will win the contract is likely by year-end, a spokesman for the city’s transportation department said. He declined to name the bidders, but Viacom Inc. and Clear Channel Communications Inc.’s outdoor unit confirmed with Reuters that they had submitted bids.

NBC Universal, majority owned by General Electric Co., touted its local television stations, suggesting that its contribution to the proposal might be cross-selling opportunities for companies buying advertising on public spaces.

The contract involves at least 3,300 bus shelters, 330 newsstands and as many as 20 self-cleaning public toilets.