April 30, 2007 | Monday

Yahoo acquires RightMedia, takes swipe at Google

By Jackie Danicki - Blogger in News |Search Engines |Google |Yahoo

It’s easy to say that this acquisition of a prominent ad media exchange company is Yahoo’s answer to Google’s purchase of DoubleClick. Also note, though, that this deal has been in the works for quite a while. After acquiring a 20 per cent stake in RightMedia last year, Yahoo went ahead and plunked down $680 million in cash and stock to buy the rest.

Right Media is considered a top resource for publishers looking to monetize their ad inventory but it’s mostly used by low-traffic Websites who do not qualify for the larger premium online ad networks like Real Media or Tribal Fusion. Publishers who sign up for Right Media’s online ad exchange can offer a variety of ads and according to Right Media - that’s working for the now Yahoo-controlled online ad exchange. Right Media said in a Feb. 28, 2007 press release that Exchange revenue has increased 81% over the past six months, with 566 billion ad impressions traded during the period.

Yahoo bigwig Terry Semel blogged about the acquisition here, saying pointedly:

We think supply and demand should be regulated by the marketplace, not a closed platform. Right Media provides a democratic model that empowers advertisers with all of these benefits. We think our open approach is a clear differentiator from others in the industry and will provide significant benefits to publishers and advertisers.

No prizes for guessing which competitor that comment is aimed at…