Yahoo tries to protect turf from TV rivals

Cory Bergman February 14th, 2007

With three months to go until the upfront — the annual tradition when the networks pitch TV buyers for advertising commitments — Yahoo held an event in New York called “Yahoo In Front,” which aimed to convince ad execs and advertisers to spend more money on Yahoo. We think we should be a bigger part of your early planning,” said Yahoo CEO Terry Semel. Some Yahoo presenters took a few shots at TV. Wenda Harris Millard, Yahoo’s chief sales officer, said advertising on TV means reaching audiences “who may or may not be interested in the product being advertised.” She also pointed out that the web makes up 17 percent of media consumption but only 6 percent of advertising dollars. “Clearly a disconnect,” she said. Which, by the way, is a true statement. (WSJ sub. req.)