[eMarketer] Yahoo bets on programmatic with a 25 per cent stake in Taboola

Yahoo acquired a 25% stake in Taboola. As part of the deal, Taboola will be Yahoo’s native advertising partner for 30 years across its digital brands, which includes sites like TechCrunch, AOL, and Engadget.

Most people are exposed to Taboola through “recommended” article links found at the bottom and sides of news articles. These links direct users to other pages in the company’s ecosystem or link to a third party “sponsored” advertiser, and are featured on many major digital publishers, from USA Today and CNBC to our own sister site Insider.

eMarketer argues that a larger company like Yahoo might be a better match for Taboola, but the ad-supported digital publishing model appears to be on its way out.

Publishers have started moving away from third-party advertisements and companies like Taboola. Bloomberg, a digital publishing heavyweight, recently severed ties with Taboola, ending its reliance on third-party programmatic advertising, which it said diverts traffic away from Bloomberg and creates a negative user experience.

Programmatic ads like Taboola’s only made up 5% of Bloomberg’s ad inventory, suggesting they are not a major driver of ad revenues for major digital publishers.

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