Goddard adds that while a deal for a yellow-book company could make sense for Google and Yahoo!, it would also be extremely expensive. But integrating those two cultures would be challenging," said Sterling. "The idea of an online entity buying a directory is tantalizing because of the advertising relationships and sales channel. Analysts said Verizon's directories business and could even wind up getting looked at by the likes of Google ( Research) and Yahoo! ( Research)īut at the end of the day, would a company like Google or Yahoo! really want to own a print publishing business, even if it does include a sizable list of advertising leads? Probably not. With that in mind, directories publishers have suddenly become an important piece of the online local search game. ( Time Warner ( Research) also owns .) And last year, InfoSpace ( Research) bought fellow online-directory firm Switchboard. Several online companies already own their own Internet directories businesses.īarry Diller's IAC/InterActive ( Research) owns CitySearch while Time Warner's AOL unit has CityGuide. "It is information about sellers and advertisers and those databases easily transfer online." "A yellow page publisher doesn't just sell yellow pieces of paper," said David Goddard, a senior analyst with Simba Research. What's more, online advertising is booming and local advertising has become an increasingly important part of the mix. "Directories may prove to be fairly long lived and shouldn't be seen as a wasting asset." "As unsexy as it may be, the yellow-pages business is hugely profitable and generates a lot of cash flow," said Greg Sterling, an analyst with Kelsey Group, a research firm that focuses on local search trends. That's exactly what happened with Dex Media. yellow-page industry is expected to post revenue growth of about 3.3 percent this year, to $16 billion.Īnd that has attracted the attention of many private equity firms, which typically look for slow-growth businesses that they can spruce up and sell later on for an even higher price. Why is there such interest in this stodgy business? One reason is that though boring, the business is stable.Īccording to Simba Research, a firm focusing on media and advertising trends, the entire U.S. Analysts have suggested that the unit could fetch $17 billion in a sale.Īnd Verizon's news has led some analysts to speculate that fellow Baby Bells AT&T ( Research) (formerly SBC) and BellSouth ( Research) may look to sell their online directories joint venture. Last week, Verizon ( Research) said it might consider selling or spinning off its Information Services business, which publishes the SuperPages directories. Phone-directory publisher Dex Media ( Research), which telecom firm Qwest ( Research) sold to private equity firms in 2003 and was then taken public in 2004, is being bought by fellow yellow-pages publisher R.H. The U S WEST Dex Internet Yellow Pages serves nationwide yellow and white pages listings, more than 18,000 information pages for local businesses, 1,700 email links and 12,500 Web links to advertisers’ Web pages.NEW YORK () � It seems that in the world of media, yellow is the new black.Īs hard as it may be to believe, one of the hottest areas in advertising these days is a medium that many associate with yesteryear: the yellow pages. “Our newspaper and U S WEST Dex are capitalizing on what each of us does best and not attempting to individually be all things to all people, further enhancing our competitive position against city guides,” said John Oppedahl, president, publisher and CEO of The Arizona Republic.Īt the U S WEST Dex site, integration with the newspapers means that when a user performs a search of any kind involving one of the newspaper’s states, the appropriate newspaper’s logo and connections to specific sections of the newspaper are made available to users, the company stated.Īt the individual newspaper’s sites, integration with U S WEST Dex’s site means that no matter where users are, they can conduct a yellow pages’ search, via a co-branded search page, to get business listings information, or connect directly to the U S WEST Dex site. “We are very focused on developing long-term relationships with newspapers, and have formed an internal team of experts to manage relationships and maximize our integration capabilities,” said Chad Roffers, director of business development and e-commerce for U S WEST Dex’s Internet Yellow Pages.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |