VZ Verizon Communications Inc

By Mike Shields 

YAHOO QUESTIONS : Now that everyone has had a moment to digest that one-time digital media titan Yahoo is about to join AOL as a part of Verizon Communications, folks in the advertising industry have some tough questions, reports CMO Today. First and foremost, does this combination really create a new entity that can effectively take on Facebook and Google, the two companies that are part of nearly every digital advertiser's menu? As much as the ad community would like a third viable player, that is unlikely to come to fruition, at least on day one, say marketers, given that neither Yahoo's or AOL's share of media budgets is anywhere close to that of Google or Facebook. Another pressing question: Once the deal closes, how fast can Verizon push Yahoo and AOL through the necessary but painful integration, including deciding which ad technology to prioritize and which employees stay or go? It isn't like other digital media brands like ascendant Snapchat are going to stop innovating in the meantime.

MISSED ENCOUNTERS: As advertisers chew over Yahoo's future inside Verizon, it's amazing to look back at the company's once vaunted, but ultimately calamitous, history. For example, check out this chart chronicling Yahoo's stock price, which peaked long, long ago. But even more brutal, if you're a Yahoo investor (or worse, co-founder) are all the moments when Yahoo could have dramatically altered its history. There was turning down Microsoft's $45 billion offer in 2008, not paying enough to buy Facebook a few years later and taking a markedly different path from Google, which focused relentlessly on the technology that served its search ad business. Ultimately, Yahoo's enduring problem, one that is arguably still not solved, is a lack of identity, reports The Wall Street Journal. It was no real surprise in the end that Yahoo was sold to Verizon, but it was rather shocking to see that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is sticking around , at least for now, reports USA Today.

TWITTER TV: Watch out ESPN. Twitter is pushing further into the live sports business. Not only is the social media company planning to stream live NFL games this coming fall, but now Twitter has inked a deal to deliver one out-of-market MLB and NHL game once a week, reports WSJ. Twitter can now claim streaming deals with four major sports leagues as well as the Pac-12 network. Now before you get too excited, think about how often most sports fans tune into watch out-of-market hockey or even baseball games on TV -- let alone the web. (Yahoo has similar rights, and when was the last time you streamed a random live hockey game there?) Still, sports is a smart association for Twitter to dabble in as it strives to become the live digital water cooler. And the more sports it offers, the more experience and know-how Twitter gets in live events, and the more viable it becomes as a digital partner.

AD CHOICE: What does the trade-off between advertising and content look like in an era where people increasingly stream their favorite shows without ads? The mission at TrueX, an ad tech firm that 21st Century Fox acquired in late 2014, has been to give people more choice -- essentially letting them watch a limited number of ads in exchange for an uninterrupted episode. But it's not easy to get the web video industry to adopt such a radical model. Now the consumer goods giant Mondelez, which makes Oreos and Ritz crackers, says it's making TrueX a big part of its digital ad plans going forward, reports Ad Age. Details are few, but the marketer says its interest in choice-driven ads goes beyond this deal. It wants to fix video-on-demand advertising -- a growing sector of the TV market where the ad experience has left many consumers and advertisers wanting.

Elsewhere

Longtime Discovery Communications ad sales chief Joe Abruzzese plans to retire at the end of 2016, after 46 years in the media business. [ CMO Today]

Verizon Communications executive Marni Walden is considered to be on a short of list of possible candidates to be the next chief executive at the wireless giant. For now, she's leading the company's aggressive push into digital media. [ WSJ]

Food Network has ordered a series created by YouTube cooking enthusiast Hannah Hart, seeking to leverage the social media star's online popularity. [ Hollywood Reporter]

Dentsu Inc.'s Dentsu Aegis Network has acquired the independent ad firm Gyro, which specializes in business-to-business advertising. [ CMO Today]

Nike is taking some heat for its new video ad featuring a group of babies in cribs who are depicted as growing up to become athletes like LeBron James and Serena Williams. According to the outcry on the web, it reminds some people of children being forced to work in sweatshops. [ Business Insider]

Outerwall Inc., which owns Redbox movie-rental kiosks, is going private. The company has agreed to be acquired by private-equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC for roughly $895 million. [ WSJ]

Nintendo Co. brought the hype surrounding "Pokémon Go" back down to reality, warning investors that the massive mobile game will only contribute modestly to its bottom line. The company's stock took a big hit. [ WSJ]

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Write to Mike Shields at mike.shields@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 26, 2016 08:04 ET (12:04 GMT)

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