Articles of the Day
Digg Bids Expected From Google, Microsoft -There are more rumors about a Digg sale, and this time, they involve Google and Microsoft. According to the report, the investment bank Allen & Co has been floating the idea to several media companies. “We hear from a source very close to the deal that four companies are in heavy due diligence with Digg - two media/news companies, and two big Internet companies - Google and Microsoft,” blogger Michael Arrington says. “And Google and Microsoft are on the verge of making their bids.” Apparently, the social news aggregator is prepared to accept less than the $300 million Allen & Co had been asking for it. The bid would more likely be in $200-$225 million range, which Digg would likely accept.
Disney’s Iger Sketches Web Plans For TV Classics; No Decision On Ad-Support Vs. Subscription - With DVD shelf space at retailers becoming increasingly crowded, Disney CEO Bob Iger hopes to move some of its TV shows from the past 50 years to its website, Bloomberg reported. Iger’s remarks were made during the Q&A portion of Disney’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday in Albuquerque. His thoughts were conceptual in nature and didn’t appear to reflect a clear plan for how Disney would distribute its TV programs. So while Iger presented no time-frame on when a vintage TV web initiative would be launched, or what shows would be selected, the choice of revenue model is fairly clear-cut: “In the near future, you’ll see more of that product available on Disney.com, either for free or through some sort of subscription.”
Google’s Armstrong Unveils ‘Top Secret Strategy’ To Agencies: Dashboards, Tools To Scale Media Buying - Google is not out to disintermediate advertising agencies, but it looks as if it has it’s heart set on disintermediating some other organizations that help agencies manage how they buy media. That was one of the takeaways from Google President-Advertising and Commerce, North America, Tim Armstrong during a keynote address Thursday at the American Association of Advertising Agencies Media Conference here.
SxSW: Keynote: Mark Zuckerberg: More To Facebook Than Valuation, Microsoft - Apparently there are three or four packed auditoriums packed with the spillover. Frankly, anyone hoping to hear some news was probably left wanting, although Facebook is about to launch in French. A fair point that he made early on was that the Facebook-related stuff the media focuses on is not what they’re so concerned about internally. Eventually, the interview by BW’s Sarah Lacy did cover items like the Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) investment and the Beacon error, but much of the conversation was about Zuckerberg’s big vision for how Facebook could be used to change the world.
Jangl Targets Social Networks For Ads - Jangl, which lets people connect via phone and text-messaging without exchanging actual numbers, has begun selling advertising on its service targeted to social networks. The startup’s VoIP-based calling service is already distributed across 80 million profiles on social sites including Facebook, Bebo and Plentyoffish, with about 1 million users.
Reports Conflict Over Federated Media’s Future - Federated Media was in the news again this week amid continued rumors that the ad network is looking for additional financing, and even a potential suitor. CNET reported Wednesday that FM is looking for between $20 million and $30 million. But a key source close to the situation tells OnlineMediaDaily that no decision has been made by FM to raise more funds.
Deloitte, BrandGames Create Virtual World To Teach Teens About Business - Deloitte & Touche USA has partnered with BrandGames to bring business education up to speed, with The Virtual Team Challenge for High Schools (VTCHS) Event–an online simulator that lets teens create avatars, learn business best practices and deal with real-world ethical and financial situations. Deloitte tapped New York-based BrandGames after doing extensive research on ways to make their business prep programs more effective and relevant to the “video game generation.” p The VTCHS platform took almost a year to develop, according to Jim Wexler, executive vice president of marketing at BrandGames, including the integration of the lesson plans, compliance with Deloitte branding, as well as the functionality and actual programming.
Adware Firm Strikes ISP Partnerships -There’s a new type of adware invading British shores. Phorm, a self-described behavioral targeting/adware company, has passed a privacy sniff test issued by Privacy International and will go live next week. Phorm provides software-based marketing for Internet service providers like British Telecom, Virgin and Talk Talk. It places a cookie on a user’s machine that tracks all the sites visited and actions taken as a user surfs the Web. It then interprets the users’ behavior in order to target relevant advertising. ISPs and other companies then receive a cut of the revenue.
Social Network Creator Mzinga Acquires Rival Prospero - Attracted by an envious roster of media and agency clients, Mzinga, which builds social networks for businesses, has acquired rival software provider Prospero. Mzinga, which only launched last November, just closed a round of financing worth nearly $30 million–more than half of which is being used to buy Prospero, a source close to the deal said.
TNS acquires web analytics firm Compete for USD75m - UK market research firm, Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS), has acquired web analytics company, Compete, for an initial cash payout of USD75m. A second performance-related sum may be paid based on Compete’s performance over the next two years. TNS wants to enhance its current offering by integrating Compete’s digital intelligence services.
Spot Runner Runs Online: Acquires Weblistic To Offer Search, Display, Video Ads - Spot Runner, the online advertising and media buying agency that has unleashed the power of Madison Avenue TV advertising for the “long tail” of the marketing world, now plans to do the same thing for online advertising. Spot Runner this morning announced the acquisition of Weblistic, an online media company specializing in search, and some display advertising. The deal is part of a push by Spot Runner to offer a fully automated online advertising and media buying system that anyone can use to create, buy, schedule and evaluate advertising on any medium.
NetCentrum, operator of Czech web portal Centrum.cz - NetCentrum has acquired Slokak web portal Atlas.sk from EPIC Holding. The deal is valued at more than €20 million, and will result in 4.9 million combined monthly users. NetCentrum is controlled by Warburg Pincus.
Adconion Acquires Frontline Direct For $20M - Adconion Media Group, online ad network that just raised $80 million in financing, is today set to announce the acquisition of Frontline Direct, a data management and direct marketing tools provider for $20 million in cash and equity. Frontline has existing relationships with ConsumerInfo.com, an Experian company, and Reunion.com, along with several interactive ad agencies.
