Microsoft and Viacom Find Common Ground in $500M Deal
Dec 19, 2007
Microsoft and Viacom are teaming up to help each other grow their digital content and advertising businesses. As part of the $500 million partnership, Microsoft will license Viacom content for use on MSN and Xbox 360. Microsoft will also use the Atlas ad platform it acquired when it bought aQuantive to sell ads for Viacom's network of approximately 300 Web sites as part of a revenue-sharing deal (in addition to buying its own ads on Viacom's cable channels and sites).
It's a not so subtle attempt for both companies to take on a common challenge: Google. So when Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman appeared on CNBC a few moments ago to discuss the partnership, he was immediately asked about his motives for joining forces with Microsoft given that Viacom's advertising had previously been handled by Google's acquisition target DoubleClick.
While Dauman discounted the question by saying he doesn't view this "as a Google matter," he went on to say that he was impressed by Microsoft's "will to win" and that the partnership did "include respect for copyright." Clearly, there would have been a bit of a conflict for Dauman if Google ended up managing the ads for Viacom's digital properties like MTV and Comedy Central at the same time that he's suing YouTube for $1 billion for copyright infringement.
So, yes, it has something to do with Google. That and $500 million.
Tags:
advertising, copyright, Microsoft, Viacom
