“AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft compete for ad dollars. But a new pact calls for the rivals to cooperate on ad sales, too,” Peter Kafka reports for AllThingsD.
“The three companies are going to start selling ad inventory on each others’ sites, in a plan they hope will make them more competitive with Google,” Kafka reports. “The strategy is also designed to help them claw back some ad spending that has ended up in the hands of ad networks in recent years.”
Kafka reports, “The idea, according to people who attended the meeting: Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL have agreed to sell each other’s ‘Class 2 display’ inventory — graphic ads the companies can’t sell on their own and would normally hand over to ad networks… The three companies will share revenue on the ads, and supposedly they’ll pocket more than they would have if a third-party ad network sold their stuff.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: The triple threat of ineptitude.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
This agreement sounds ripe for regulators to investigate. It sounds lke indirect price fixing, by restricting sales of their services to each other. They must have reciprocal arrangements planned….
This will likely result in a future takeover of Yahoo and AOL by Microsoft.
Don’t forget the future running into the ground of both companies assets, the future departure of anyone good from what’s left of both companies, and the future shutdown of all of their services, as if they never existed.
Ha! Goople is going to be very busy these days.
Hmmmm…. Think I’ll install adblockers, then use every “Axis of Evil” service I can find.
I love the idea of Microsoft dying a Death of a Thousand Cuts.
Hello Microsoft. Meet adblock.
the Winners’ Circle steps up to the plate! iBoring monstrosity…
Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft—otherwise known as the Three Stooges (with no disrespect meant to comedy lovers everywhere).
Beahahaha. I predict yahoo! will buy the other two.