Microsoft is Not Amused About Google-Yahoo! Advertising Deal

It seems that Microsoft has some sour grapes about the failed Yahoo! acquisition the company recently attempted a few months back. Now that Google and Yahoo! have announced a joint advertising deal, Microsoft spokesperson Jack Evans suggested that the move offers less competition and will increase costs for advertisers.

On one level, I can sympathize with the software giant. After all, a Yahoo-Google "merger" of sorts was just the thing many analysts were considering in an effort to thwart off Microsoft. But on another, I can’t help but think the whole vocal opposition is a little childish. It’s hard to deny that Microsoft (understandably) wants inroads on any industry that can provide them with revenue, but they have been struggling for a while now on a "me too" basis. If the deal did go through, the acquisition would have created another monopoly, this time hailing under Microsoft’s control. The outcome is the same, essentially one company is left is a worse position.

So is the deal really bad for the online advertising industry? Yahoo! had a large opposition to letting Microsoft aquire them in the first place, and were quick to announce the cooperation with Google. It seems like the two are willing to work together, so time will only tell.

"Our position has been clear since April that any deal between these two companies will increase prices for advertisers and start to consolidate more than 90 percent of the search advertising market in Google’s hands," Evans said. "Legal and industry experts agree that this would clearly make the market less competitive."