Microsoft Media Network to Offer Display Ads from Yahoo! and AOL

Advertising customers leveraging the Microsoft Media Network will soon be able to buy display ads from Yahoo! Network Plus and AOL Advertising.com networks, the Redmond company revealed.

Yahoo!, Microsoft and AOL inked new advertising agreements this week, focused on what Rik van der Kooi, corporate vice president of the Microsoft Advertising Business Group refers to as premium non-reserved owned and operated display inventory.

Of course, the new deal doesn’t go just one way, with Yahoo! and AOL also being able to let their customers access online display inventory from the Microsoft Media Network.

“The mechanism by which this inventory will be made available between the three partners is an interoperability agreement that involves the companies’ respective networks and exchanges (in our case, the Microsoft Advertising Exchange),” Rik said.

“Previously, our networks and exchanges didn’t “talk” to each other very well and were unable to effect inventory transactions between parties. Now they’ll be able to do just that.”

According to the software giant, the three companies are hard at work to make sure that the integration of their respective real-time bidding (RTB) technologies will be wrapped up sometime by early 2012.

None of the parties provided a specific date when they expect to enable advertising customers to access each other’s non-reserved inventory. The deal is limited to the United States and Canada, at least for the time being.

Microsoft Advertising Exchange and Yahoo’s! Right Media Exchange will be the two sources of resale ad inventory, the Redmond company explained noting that AOL also has the option of using its own exchange technology.

“Microsoft will continue to offer audiences, packages and solutions that are unique to our assets, as will Yahoo! and AOL. Like many partnerships in today’s online world, while we are joining together on this particular inventory offering, we will remain competitors on other aspects of our display businesses,” Rik added.