Smaaz’s Blog

Yahoo! and WebMD Sign Exclusive Advertising Distribution Agreement

October 16th, 2007

Yahoo! and WebMD (Nasdaq:WBMD), the established leader in online health information, today announced exclusive, multi-year search and advertising distribution agreements. Under the new agreements, Yahoo! will power sponsored search across the WebMD network of consumer sites, including WebMD Health, MedicineNet, eMedicine Health and RxList. In addition, WebMD will extend its advertising reach to include WebMD users across Yahoo! properties and services. WebMD will be the only significant online health publisher to represent Yahoo!’s advertising inventory.

With online advertising spending in the health and pharmaceuticals category expected to top $1 billion next year(1), this agreement provides both Yahoo! and WebMD with additional reach and targeting that will benefit advertisers and consumers alike. Yahoo!’s robust ad platform coupled with effective targeting capabilities will enable advertisers to reach an even larger engaged audience and consumers will receive more relevant and timely health-related marketing messages. Additionally, should WebMD choose to make its inventory available to a third party advertising network, Yahoo! will have the opportunity to extend its advanced advertising products across the WebMD network of consumer sites on competitive terms.

“This strategic agreement dramatically extends WebMD’s ability to uniquely reach health-involved consumers across the breadth of both WebMD and Yahoo! properties,” said Wayne Gattinella, President and CEO of WebMD. “We’re pleased to bring Yahoo!’s world class sponsored search capability to WebMD users as they seek credible health information on our network of consumer sites.”

“Yahoo! couldn’t be more thrilled to power sponsored search for WebMD’s users. WebMD is the premier destination for health information,” said Todd Teresi, senior vice president of the Yahoo! Publisher Network. “This agreement ushers in a new era of collaboration and value creation for marketers seeking qualified audiences, consumers demanding relevant experiences, and for our collective organizations as we look to build upon our unique strengths.”

Entry Filed under: Yahoo!