Advertising and marketing

If there was any doubt that online advertising was cooling down, this news might make you think twice.

ContextWeb, a contextual advertising firm and operator of the ADSDAQ Exchange, has closed a $26 million Series D funding round, the company said Tuesday.

The round was led by Investor Growth Capital, with participation from all existing investors: DFJ, DFJ Gotham Ventures, Updata Partners, DFJ New England, and Gold Hill Capital.

This brings ContextWeb's total equity investment to $54 million.

The funding will be used to grow the ADSDAQ Exchange, which offers a way for advertisers and publishers to buy and … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman doesn't typically bash Google in the press.

While Google CEO Eric Schmidt has publicly ridiculed Viacom for filing a $1 billion copyright claim against Google and YouTube, Dauman is usually more reserved.

But at a small press gathering Monday night in San Francisco, Dauman discussed some of the events that led up to the lawsuit and what he sees as wrong with Google's handling of the entertainment industry. (I wasn't taking direct notes, so I'll paraphrase most of what he said.)

First, Dauman noted that one of the first meetings he … Read more

Some business sectors are definitely hurt by the current economic downturn, but major Internet sites dependent on advertising have been holding serious trouble at bay. Tuesday afternoon, investors should get a better idea whether the problems are hitting Yahoo.

The company is set to report results for its second quarter after stock market trading closes in the afternoon. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect earnings per share of 11 cents on revenue of $1.37 billion.

But there is pessimism in the air. "Comments last week from Valueclick and Microsoft indicate the broader economic downturn is affecting online ads, … Read more

After months of exchanging barbs with investor activist Carl Icahn, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang has told employees he's looking forward to the "fresh perspective" Icahn will bring as a board member.

Just last week, Icahn had officially launched his proxy fight against Yahoo. On Monday morning, a settlement with Icahn ended it all.

Monday's note contrasts with an e-mail Yang penned last week that warned employees to brace for an especially contentious period leading up to the August 1 shareholders meeting. The latest missive, posted Monday evening in a corporate blog and noted in a Securities … Read more

The New York Times has inked a deal with LinkedIn to deliver targeted headlines to members of the networking site.

A LinkedIn user who works in the energy industry would, for example, be shown articles relevant to that area.

Times readers will also be able to share and comment on stories with LinkedIn members in their networks through a tool on article pages of the newspaper's Web site.

The deal, announced Monday night, will also enable advertisers to target "more Times readers than currently available through the NYTimes.com registration process," the companies said, though they did … Read more

AOL announced partnerships to bolster its AOL Health site with content from Caring.com, Health.com, and HealthCare.com, the Time Warner subsidiary said Monday.

Caring.com has information about helping care for elderly parents; Health.com is part of Time's Health brand; and HealthCare.com will supply AOL with access to its search facility for medical and dental professionals, AOL said.

AOL shows targeted advertising supplied by AOL's ad business, Platform-A, on its health site, which is part of the company's larger AOL Living site.

"Our goal at AOL Health is to create a comprehensive … Read more

TiVo--a company well-known for helping TV viewers skip commercials--is teaming up with Amazon.com to make it easier for consumers to purchase products they see on television commercials and talk shows, according to a report Monday on The New York Times Web site.

A "product purchase" feature on onscreen menus will provide TiVo customers with links to buy products like books, compact discs, and DVDs featured on programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Late Show With David Letterman, and The Daily Show, the newspaper reported. Alviso, Calif.-based TiVo plans to offer the feature to advertisers … Read more

Adobe Systems is revamping its Media Player with a new interface and a deal that will let users of the software watch movies from Sony Pictures.

The interface update in the new version 1.1, due to ship Tuesday afternoon, presents users with a larger number of video shows. "There's more content that we surface earlier," said Ashley Still, senior product manager for Adobe Media Player.

The new Sony partnership means people will be able to watch full-length movies, including Jerry Maguire and Men in Black, on Adobe Media Player, she said. A total of about 600 … Read more

Updated 10:45 a.m. PDT, with comments from the M&A director of research at RiskMetrics Group.

Microsoft may be the biggest winner in the proxy fight settlement between Yahoo and activist investor Carl Icahn, whose peace accord was announced Monday.

With its ally Icahn and two members of Icahn's former dissident proxy slate getting three seats on Yahoo's expanded 11-member board as part of the settlement, Microsoft may find a sympathetic ear on any future buyout or asset acquisition proposals for Yahoo's search business, said sources. That, as a result, could push Microsoft to … Read more