A Dow Jones report says advertisers welcome the possibility of a Microsoft-America Online advertising pact, but a deal is unlikely to have an effect on their spending. However, a deal between
Microsoft and AOL would have a significant effect on the search advertising business currently dominated by Google. Google, which also powers AOL's search services, accounts for 45 percent of Internet
searches, compared to Yahoo's 23 percent, and Microsoft's 12 percent. An AOL-Microsoft deal would certainly enhance competition in this market, and in online advertising overall, the advertisers said.
In the last few weeks, the AOL negotiations have been overshadowed by the public in-fighting among Time Warner executives and shareholder Carl Icahn. The three companies have given no indication which
way the negotiations are currently leaning.
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