Google has sealed a deal to pay $750 million for AdMob, a mobile phone advertising company, in an all-stock deal that puts the search giant’s money on the future of mobile ads. The privately held AdMob’s revenues are estimated at $45-60 million, according to an analyst cited by Reuters.
Google has issued a statement in advance of quarterly reporting saying that the online advertising market appears to be stabilizing, after a period in the first quarter of the year where consumers delayed purchases and cut the amount they were spending, reports the Financial Times. Earnings for Q2 are $5.2 billion. The company also said that YouTube is finally starting to get the attention of advertisers and the company expects it to turn a profit but no date for that was given.
The numbers have been far smaller than those for television, radio and print, but the growth of online advertising has continued upward, in sharp contrast to the other ad markets – until now. New figures released by several groups in the US and the UK show that Internet advertising has either fallen or is flat, with search advertising, notably with Google, doing fine, but not banners and other ads that online companies need in order to make money. New York Times
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Edipresse, the largest media publisher in the Lake Geneva region, which is being bought out by Tamedia, saw 2008 profits slip by 5.4 percent to CHF30.5 million, with group revenue falling by 9.4 percent to CHF738.3m.
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Le Temps, possibly the most respected French language newspaper in the Lake Geneva region, has a new look Monday, but more critically, it is making its online content free. That said, you have to register to have access to full versions of stories, the site indicates – but at least on day one all articles seem to be free and available without registration.
The latest victim of the flagging US economy is newspaper advertising, down 18% overall in the third quarter, with online ads also falling, 3%, for the second quarter in a row. Online advertising is the hope of the industry, which last had a good year in 2000, but according to Ad Age, the situation is expected to worsen in coming months. The Q3 loss comes to $2 billion. Related blog,
A June deal between Google and Yahoo that would let Google use some of Yahoo’s online advertising space quickly ran into problems with the US Justice Department and the Wall St Journal is now reporting sources close to the deal as saying it could be dropped next week. The two have 80% of the online advertising market and advertisers have voiced fears prices will rise if the deal goes through. Reuters
