14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is determined to extend its empire well into the heart of advertising, the ultimate goal being to catch up with Google and Yahoo!, the latter recently signing an agreement with the largest online auctioneer, eBay.
After announcing at the MSN Strategic Account Summit the acquisition of Massive Inc., world-leading network for video game advertising, there are rumors that Microsoft is eyeing Third Screen Media, a company whose technology would allow the software giant to provide mobile ads.
"Third Screen Media's MADX product suite links advertisers, publishers and mobile phone carriers on a common platform to increase the efficiency and time-to-market for the buying and selling of mobile advertising in Wap, video, MMS and downloadable applications," Third Screen Media writes on its site.
According to a statistic, Third Screen Media displays about 70 million ads per month. Most of them are text messages, but the company also has some banners and video ads.
If Microsoft ads Third Screen Media to its advertising portfolio, the Redmond company would have two hungry tentacles deeply penetrating into the advertising potential, thus compensating for its position on the online market.