Microsoft News Tracker

Google’s DoubleClick unit (whose acquisition was the source of much Microsoft rancor) announced today that it has added Microsoft’s Silverlight 2 to the video technologies in which it can serve video ads with its In-Stream advertising platform. This is just in time for the 2008 Summer Olympics, which in the USA are Silverlight powered online.

Today, DoubleClick, a premier provider of digital marketing technology and services, announced the new capability to serve video ads into Microsoft Silverlight 2 video environments. The move is part of DoubleClick’s ongoing effort to help clients maximize the yield on their advertising inventory as they deliver content into emergent online, video and mobile channels.

With this new feature of DoubleClick In-Stream, DoubleClick clients such as NBC Universal Digital Media are able to monetize video content played within the Silverlight 2 player. NBCOlympics.com, a division of NBC Universal, will be one of the first sites to open Silverlight 2 content up to advertisers with DoubleClick In-Stream. The solution carves out new video inventory across 2,500 hours of video content running as part of NBC’s Olympics coverage.

There should be no surprise here. Even though Google and Microsoft aren’t the best of pals, it is a win for both parties for DoubleClick to add Silverlight 2 to its In-Stream video stable (which already includes Adobe Flash, RealMedia, and Windows Media) and for Microsoft to get DoubleClick support.

Microsoft is never shy about reaching for the wallet to buy technology and the associated developer talent to embellish their offerings and this week’s shopping cart holds Rapt Inc,, an advertising yield software developer, and Kidaro, a provider of desktop virtualization management software.

(more…)

Despite Microsoft’s best efforts, Google’s acquisition of Doubleclick was completed today as the European Union gave its approval. The key graph from Eric Schmidt’s blog post:

Advertisers and publishers who work with us have long asked that we complement our search and content-based text advertising with display advertising capabilities. DoubleClick gives Google the leading platform for display advertising, enabling us to rapidly bring advances to the market in technology and infrastructure that will dramatically improve the effectiveness, measurability and performance of digital media for publishers, advertisers and agencies.

I still think that getting into the banner ad biz is a step backward, but it does make Google a one stop Web advertising shop.

Despite Microsoft’s best efforts to stop Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today that they have completed their investigation and have no objections:

(more…)

Viacom apparently isn’t put off by Microsoft’s abandonment of the URGE music service that their MTV subsidiary created with Microsoft, because they have signed on for a new long term advertising and content deal.

Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) and Microsoft Corp. today announced a broad-based, strategic alliance under which major divisions of both companies will collaborate on advertising, content distribution, event promotions and games over the next several years.

(more…)