Yahoo to launch Google-like advertising network for smaller sites
According to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
Yahoo Inc. plans to introduce a system to broker online advertisements for small and midsize Web publishers, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move will heighten its competition with Google Inc. and signals Yahoo's belief that there is money to be made through niche sites such as Web logs, or "blogs."
Under the planned system, Yahoo will match advertisements with relevant content on partner Web sites and share the ad fees with the site owners, the people familiar with the matter said. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company currently provides such a service under negotiated contracts with larger Web sites, such as CNN.com. Yahoo is expected to provide an automated online system for site owners to sign up, similar to the one Google has used since 2003.