In a bid to get approval for their advertising partnership, Google and Yahoo have submitted a revised proposal to the U.S. DoJ.  The deal is now for 2 years, instead of 10, and revenue is capped at 25% of Yahoo’s total search advertising revenue (which, according to this post by John Battelle, will be $1 billion for 2008.)  Coverage from NY Times and Wall Street Journal (sub required).

The deal was announced in June.  Google announced that it would wait until October so that the government could scrutinize the partnership.  They’ve since backed away from that date when opposition mounted to the plan.  Will the next administration get to rule on the partnership?  TechCrunch seems to think so:

“But maybe this is just a stalling tactic until a new Presidential administration and new Justice Department officials come into office.  Would the Google-Yahoo deal do better under an Obama or a McCain administration?  Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s endorsement of Obama will not be forgotten — by either side.”

Update, 11/5 - Google’s yanked the life preserver back:

“We’re of course disappointed that this deal won’t be moving ahead.  But we’re not going to let the prospect of a lengthy legal battle distract us from our core mission.  That would be like trying to drive down the road of innovation with the parking brake on.  Google’s continued success depends on staying focused on what we do best: creating useful products for our users and partners.”

Submitted by: Dan Giancaterino, Education Services Manager
on November 04, 2008 - 10:14 am

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