Originally published February 15 2006
Google and AOL strengthen advertising partnership
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Surprising many market analysts, AOL announced that it was passing on a proposal from Microsoft and opting to increase its advertising ventures with Google, its current partner.
As part of the current negotiations with Google, AOL would be able to sell additional ads for its search engine also powered by Google on top of those provided by Google, according to a report Friday in The Wall Street Journal Online.
Representatives at AOL parent company Time Warner, AOL and Google did not return calls seeking comment.
AOL was in talks with Microsoft this year about forming a strategic partnership, with negotiations at one point touching on a potential buyout or a Microsoft investment in AOL, a person familiar with the negotiations, who asked not to be identified, told CNET News.com.
Under the proposal, Microsoft and AOL would have combined their advertising forces to form a massive global advertising network, selling multimedia, brand- and search-related ads for their own Web sites and third-party sites on the Internet.
The Dulles, Va.-based media company has been interested in selling its own search-related ads, which are currently provided exclusively by Google, the source said.
The shifting negotiations apparently put an end to a heated and closely watched contest between Google and Microsoft over a key source of Google's advertising revenue.
Time Warner shares closed at $18, giving it a market capitalization of nearly $84 billion, compared with Google's $430.15 a share close and more than $127 billion market cap.
Google had 48 percent search market share in October, compared with 22 percent for Yahoo, 11 percent for Microsoft's MSN and 7.2 percent for AOL, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.
"AOL's biggest challenge is still to reposition the company" as a player in the Web content business, he said.
The changes weren't fast enough to suit billionaire Carl Icahn, who directly and indirectly controls 3 percent of Time Warner shares.
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