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Despite Live 8 promoter Bob Geldof's comments that the event is "not for charity, but political justice" - which might have alienated some marketers, especially since some thought the campaign might be tinged with an anti-capitalist sentiment - the global concert series organized to help assuage poverty in Africa was by all accounts a tremendous boon to America Online, which held the online broadcast rights, and to advertisers as well.

"It was a defining moment for the medium - a tipping point," Bill Wilson, AOL's senior vice-president for programming, is quoted by the New York Times as saying.

The AP summed up that sentiment thus: "Television seemed shockingly old-fashioned during Saturday's worldwide concert for poverty relief. AOL's coverage was so superior, it may one day serve as a historical marker in drawing people to computers instead of TV screens for big events."

The broadcast was an important part of AOL's efforts to turn its upcoming free web portal into an advertiser-supported site. More than five million people watched the concerts live on AOL at various times during the day, with as many as 175,000 simultaneous video streams being demanded from AOL servers. All the concerts are now available on its website. AOL hopes large traffic numbers will draw the attention of online advertisers.

Last week, AdAge provided a rundown of the event sponsors and other advertisers.