Best Buy Forks $2.1B Over for 50% of The Carphone Warehouse

Best Buy has purchased a 50 percent stake in The Carphone Warehouse, a European mobile phone vendor, for $2.1 billion. The deal includes The Carphone Warehouse's 2400 stores, which span nine European countries, as well as its online and direct businesses, insurance operations and airtime reselling businesses, CNN reports. The Carphone Warehouse will maintain proprietary ownership of […]

Posted: Friday, May 9th, 2008

Bill Gates Pursues Greener Pastures in 'Growth,' Sergey Brin Gloats

Following the withdrawal of its Yahoo bid, Bill Gates says Microsoft will focus on growing its online ad and search businesses. The Associated Press reports Gates express confidence about Microsoft's ability to compete against Google, which, he admits, has a "strong lead" in search and advertising. Microsoft is now rumored to be pursuing Facebook. And while Gates […]

Posted: Friday, May 9th, 2008

Clearwire, Sprint Partner for WiMax Venture; Telecoms Tag Along

Clearwire and Sprint Nextel are combining wireless broadband units, reports The Associated Press. The duo will operate under the Clearwire label and focus on the development and implementation of WiMax high-speed internet technology. WiMax is faster than standard Wi-Fi. Clearwire and Sprint believe this liaison will expedite its mainstream availability. Sprint Nextel will own about 51 percent […]

Posted: Thursday, May 8th, 2008

Mattel Outsources Display Ad Sales to Gorilla Nation

Mattel has tapped online ad firm Gorilla Nation to manage online display ad inventory for Barbie.com and PollyPocket.com. The Barbie site serves 7.3 million unique visitors per month; PollyPocket.com draws about four million. Both sites will be incorporated in Gorilla Nation's GNKids offering. In February, the Star Wars franchise also chose Gorilla Nation to sell ads on its […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

Comcast Launches 'Feedback Loop' for Email Marketers

With help from Return Path, Comcast has launched a complaint feedback loop. feedback.comcast.com forwards mail reported as spam back to firms that mass-mail Comcast customers. The loop also enables admins to receive copies of complaints that originate from their networks. The system helps filter spammers that send objectionable material to many inboxes. And senders can view how many […]

Posted: Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

Yahoo, McAfee Partner for Secure Search Experience

Yahoo is partnering with McAfee on a system that flags potentially unsafe search results. The system integrates McAfee's Site Advisor technology into results from Yahoo Search. Red text and other alerts will warn searchers if a site contains any malicious software or is affiliated with any other online fraud activity. The security offering was christened SearchScan […]

Posted: Tuesday, May 6th, 2008

Microsoft Sweetens Yahoo Bid; Yahoo Again Declines; Microsoft Exits Stage Left

Following insider speculation that Microsoft had increased its bid for Yahoo "by a few dollars," resulting in merger talks, Microsoft announced Saturday that it is withdrawing its bid for the search company. The change of heart occurred when CEOs Steve Ballmer and Jerry Yang, as well as Yahoo co-founder David Filo and Microsoft online president Kevin […]

Posted: Monday, May 5th, 2008

Microsoft and Yahoo Get Their Merge On

Insiders reveal Microsoft increased its bid for Yahoo "by several dollars," which has — at long last — sparked active merger talks. The news brings closure to what appeared to be a public stalemate between the two giants, which in turn followed an emotional ultimatum by Microsoft — and Yahoo's cool decline. The original buyout offer valued […]

Posted: Monday, May 5th, 2008

New Releases Now Available to Rent or Own on iTunes

Apple announced it will begin selling new release films on iTunes. The deal includes inked signatures from Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount, Universal, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, Sony, and New Line Cinema — which currently also deliver rentals to iTunes users. The relationship is a fresh grievance for Wal-Mart, whose DVD division is expected to suffer. In February, […]

Posted: Friday, May 2nd, 2008

Rumor: Ballmer May Raise Yahoo Offer on the Quiet

As the US Justice Department quietly roves the antitrust status of the Yahoo/Google sponsored search liaison, CEO Steve Ballmer told conference-goers in Milan, Italy that Microsoft is "prepared to go forward without a merger." "We are offering a lot of money," Ballmer said. "If Yahoo!'s shareholders like it, that's great." Microsoft's takeover bid for Yahoo stands at […]

Posted: Friday, April 25th, 2008

AP to Launch Ad-Supported Mobile News Network in Q2

The Associated Press (AP) is teaming with Verve Wireless, a wireless publishing platform, to power the public foray of its AP Mobile News Network. The service gives mobile users a central space for local, national and international news and is "tailored to smart phones," according to the AP. The beta program was announced just recently; it […]

Posted: Friday, April 25th, 2008

Marchex Inks Liaisons with Panoply of Niche Review Sites

Online ad firm and local content publisher Marchex has closed partnerships with a number of niche location-based content sites, including Yelp, Frommer's, Priceline and Avvo. The relationships add over five million user reviews and ratings to the engorged Marchex network, bringing its total to eight million nationwide. Content will be integrated into the Marchex local network, […]

Posted: Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

Break Media Spearheads Launch of Online Video Industry Coalition

Break Media has announced plans to launch an industry group for promoting the efficacy of online video advertising. The coalition shall include agencies, technology providers and online video companies. The Online Video Advertising ROI Council will also contribute research and education on video advertising. Ogilvy One, truTV, AT&T, the National Geographic Channel, AT&T, and Initiative Media will […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

American Idol Charity Effort Tests Sponsors' PR Savvy; ExxonMobil Proves a Peach

Direct marketing firm SendTec examined the TV sponsors for Idol Gives Back, an event during which American Idol viewers were admonished to donate to charities. Sponsors included ExxonMobil, Ford, Coca-Cola, AT&T, iTunes, Allstate and the M·A·C AIDS Fund. The study profiles how well ExxonMobil, iTunes, Ford and Coca-Cola maximized their public relations. ExxonMobil ran no spots during […]

Posted: Monday, April 14th, 2008

AnswersTV to Port Health Content to AP Video Site

AnswersTV, which provides original health programming online, will be syndicating health content to AP's OVN. The shows will be distributed to almost 2,000 online video affiliates. The relationship is an exclusive one. AP expects affiliates will use the programming to augment health-oriented site content. A recent study observed a disparity exists between what consumers want, and actually […]

Posted: Monday, April 14th, 2008

Salesforce to Sell Google Apps; Microsoft Officially Challanged

Google and Salesforce have deepened their existing relationship, presenting a more formidable challenge to Microsoft's suite of productivity software. The partnership integrates Google Apps products, which include word processing, spreadsheet and e-mail components, into Salesforce's customer relationship management service. The combo will be available as a hosted (SaaS) service, which means users can access them online […]

Posted: Monday, April 14th, 2008

Google Calls Quattrone as Tensions Boil Over MicroHoo

Frank Quattrone, founder of the Qatalyst Group and one of the first i-bankers to assess Google in the '90s, has been enlisted as advisor to CEO Eric Schmidt. His role will be to help spring-load a strategy against the escalating drama between Yahoo and Microsoft, reports The New York Times. Google recently formed a tentative agreement […]

Posted: Friday, April 11th, 2008

Yahoo to Give Google a Go in 'Test Partnership'

Yahoo has announced plans to carry search advertising from Google as part of a "test partnership." The experiment, whereby Google ads appear alongside Yahoo search results, will last two weeks and apply to US-based Yahoo users. The move closely follows Microsoft's failed attempt to scare Yahoo with an ultimatum on its $44.6 billion buyout bid. The New York […]

Posted: Thursday, April 10th, 2008

AOL to Serve ESPN Content on Video, Sports Pages

As the result of a freshly-inked relationship, AOL Video and AOL Sports shall now serve ESPN video content. These will include game highlights, sporting events coverage and ESPN's original online programming. According to ESPN, users on ESPN.com watched videos in over 1.2 billion instances in 2007, a 54 percent increase over '06, reports MediaPost. AOL will be […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 8th, 2008

Niche Content, Ad Opportunities Open to Pringo Social Networks

Content syndication platform Mochila has just formed its first social networking relationship, with white label platform Pringo. Pringo is not itself a social network. Like its more casual rival Ning, it enables businesses or groups to create their own online communities. Mochila shall integrate its marketplace interface onto Pringo, so social network admins can search for […]

Posted: Tuesday, April 8th, 2008