CNBC taps Microsoft for banner, contextual ads

CNBC has picked Microsoft to be the exclusive provider of display and contextual advertising in the U.S. for the CNBC.com Web site.
The companies are not disclosing the length or financial terms of the deal, but said that Microsoft will now take over the bulk of selling banner and contextual advertising for the site. The deal is similar to the one Microsoft has with both Facebook globally and Digg in the U.S., said Jon Tinter, general manager, strategy and business development at Microsoft.

Microsoft plans to package ad sales from its MSNMoney site with sales for CNBC.com, which focuses on providing real-time financial news and stock market information, he said.

Contextual advertising delivered by Microsoft is expected to begin appearing later this month on the CNBC.com site, while display advertising will begin in March 2008.

Though CNBC's parent company NBC Universal has a relationship with Doubleclick that will continue, CNBC, which had been selling all of the banner and contextual ads on its site, will now turn the bulk of that business over to Microsoft, said Elizabeth Sami, senior vice president of business development at CNBC.com. The company has not decided if it will use a third-party advertising partner for the international portions of CNBC.com, which are being sold by in-house staff, she said.

Google announced its intent to purchase Doubleclick in April, but the deal has not closed pending regulatory approval. It is currently under scrutiny by federal regulators and lawmakers.

Microsoft's strength in selling advertising on its MSNMoney site was part of the draw of teaming with the company over other providers of online advertising, Sami said. She added that the company believes that Microsoft has the best technology to provide this kind of advertising.

The deal with CNBC.com and others are some evidence that Microsoft's US$6 billion purchase of digital services agency aQuantive in May may be starting to pay off. Tinter said it will be a combination of Microsoft's adCenter platform and technology from that acquisition that will be driving ad sales on the CNBC.com site.

In the last two years Microsoft has added services and content for its online brands Windows Live and MSN to boost the revenue of its Online Services Business (OSB) segment, particularly from online advertising. So far, however, financial analysts have said they are unimpressed by the growth of the group despite this investment. Revenue from online services grew only 8.7 percent from 2.3 million to 2.5 million for Microsoft's fiscal year 2007, ended June 30.