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Microsoft's big-ass bid for Yahoo! - February 1, 2008

Microsoft's $44 billion bid for Yahoo! is obviously about the search-driven advertising business, which isn't exactly Media Wonk's beat. So on that score, MW will just observe that it seems to be a case of one company that's been getting its ass kicked by Google buying another company that's been getting its ass kicked by Google, presumably in hopes that a bigger, combined ass will at least be better able to withstand the pounding.

As for a hometown angle, the deal may contain some good news for content owners. While neither Yahoo Video nor MSN's Soapbox have been able to dislodge YouTube at the top of the online video heap, a combined platform might provide content owners a bit more of a counterweight to the Google-owned site. Both Yahoo and Microsoft have been friendlier in their dealings with rights owners than YouTube, and having a bulked up friend is probably a good thing.

The combination could also provide something of a counterweigt to the growing alliance between YouTube and Apple, another company with which content owners have had rather mixed experiences. Yahoo has shown some ability to create good mobile applications, like Yahoo Go, but has had less luck with distribution. Microsoft, on the other hand, has good distribution for its Windows Mobile operating system, and if nothing else, Microsoft knows a thing or two about leveraging an OS to sell apps.

For anyone eyeing the mobile video market, having a credible alternative in the market to YouTube/Apple could be valuable.



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