• by Tameka Kee , May 2, 2007

In a meeting with investment analysts in Philadelphia, executives from Comcast Corp. forecast at least $1 billion in online revenue for the next five to six years as the company "cultivates new revenue sources."

The largest cable-service provider in the U.S. appears to be banking on display and video ads on its Comcast.net portal as one of those revenue streams, judging from the multi-year partnership with Yahoo announced earlier this week.

Although both companies declined to disclose financial terms of the deal, in a statement, Comcast's COO Stephen Burke revealed that the company eventually expects to see about one-third of online ad revenue from graphic display ads.

Given that Comcast.net has a reported 15 million monthly visitors, a simple 10-cent-per-click banner ad could feasibly generate over $1 million in its first month.

Yahoo's advertising sales organization will be the primary marketing and sales channel for Comcast.net's display and video advertising, enabling the company to use both the search giant's network of advertisers and its ad-serving, targeting and inventory management capabilities.

"We are delighted with our new long-term strategic partnership with Yahoo," said Amy L. Banse, president, Comcast Interactive Media. "Their scale, experienced sales force, advertiser relationships and industry leading display advertising capabilities will bring significant new monetization opportunities to Comcast.net."