It looks like it’s really going to get interesting in the battle for publisher ad space. In the last year Microsoft has started to become much more serious about locking up publisher properties, and they’ve done so again with WSJ.com and its related properties.
It’s great for large publishers that they’ll now have Yahoo!, Microsoft, Google, and every other ad network in the world fighting for their inventory. The smart publishers are going to take advantage of this, and use technology and negotiation to make a killing. I’d advise when they partner, to work with the most open partner.
This is also good for AdCenter advertisers because in the past the AdCenter content network didn’t provide that much volume. Microsoft hasn’t opened up a program like Adsense or YPN that any publisher can sign up for, so the content network has been limited to Microsoft non-search properties and other top publishers they have relationships with. More relationships like this one will expand that content network base, especially if you’re a financial advertiser.
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