Media General is extending an ad sales partnership with Yahoo! from
its newspapers to the group's television stations. The media company
recently concluded a pilot program in four television markets, and will
expand the partnership to eight more stations later this month. All
Media General stations will eventually have ad partnerships with the
search giant.
The pilot markets were Birmingham, Columbus,
Mobile and Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C./Asheville, N.C. Media General
has been selling Yahoo display advertising in its five convergence
markets, such as Tampa, which include newspapers and TV stations, since
2007.
"Media General has been a leader in the sale of multiple
Yahoo products at our daily newspapers since early 2007," said Media
General President/CEO Marshall Morton. "As a result of our success in
selling Yahoo products, we will extend the sale of Yahoo display
advertising to all of our television stations. This expansion of our
Yahoo! sales is a prime example of how our market structure promotes the
development of new revenue streams and facilitates customer-focused
sales and marketing solutions across multiple media platforms."
The
relationship between web search and local television is still being
determined. Google has sought to partner with stations on its
auction-based TV Ads program, but has met with considerable skepticism
from local broadcast executives.
Media General generated $7
million in Yahoo revenues at its newspapers in 2009, and estimates that
will grow to around $10 million in 2010. The sale of Yahoo display
advertising by the company's television stations is expected to increase
Media General's total Yahoo display revenues by approximately 50%.
