DoubleClick Signs AltaVista to Three-Year Ad Pact

Ad network DoubleClick Inc. in New York City signed
AltaVista to a three-year advertising services agreement.


Compaq Computer Corp. which owns AltaVista, will continue to use
DoubleClick’s
DART (Dynamic Ad Reporting and Targeting) technology for the delivery of ads
on the AltaVista site. In addition, DoubleClick will retain domestic,
international and local ad sales representation for the core search and
directory sections of the AltaVista site.


AltaVista will continue to develop content zones and manage its sponsorship
and e-commerce partnerships with other marketers. AltaVista said that down the
road it may assume full ad sales responsibilities for a limited number of clients.
Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.


The new agreement has comparable economic terms to an earlier agreement
and is binding on both parties for the three-year term. The previous
agreement, now being replaced, was cancelable by either party with three months’ notice.


“This is an excellent day for DoubleClick,” stated Kevin O’Connor, CEO of DoubleClick. “We are thrilled that Compaq is clearly demonstrating a commitment to making AltaVista a premier portal. This new long-term agreement not only guarantees the continuation of that relationship, but also provides the
management of both DoubleClick and AltaVista with the opportunity and
incentive to identify new and lucrative areas where we can work together.”


DoubleClick has worked with AltaVista since December of 1996. DoubleClick sold
ads that target key word searches on AltaVista pages and created sponsorship
opportunities for major advertisers. In December 1998, DoubleClick delivered
more than one billion targeted advertisements through AltaVista.


Separately, DoubleClick posted a loss of $4.4 million for the fourth quarter
last year. The company said its revenues for the quarter were $29.1 million,
up 167 percent from revenues of $10.9 million for the same period a year ago.


The net loss for the third quarter of 1998 was $4.7 million, and the company
posted a net loss of $3.7 million for the fourth quarter of 1997. The net loss for the year
ended Dec. 31, 1998 was $18.2 million, or $1.13 per share, compared to a net
loss of $8.4 million, or $0.73 per share, for the year ended Dec. 31, 1997.


The company reported revenues of $80.2 million for the year ended Dec. 31,
1998, a 162 percent increase over revenues of $30.6 million reported for the
year ended Dec. 31, 1997.


DoubleClick said its Internet traffic remained, “extremely strong” in December.
Over the month, the company had delivery of 5.3 billion ads, or more than 172
million customer viewings a day–up 69 percent from September.

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