Today the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) voted unanimously not to block Google’s acquisition of the popular mobile advertising network Admob.
The following media release was issued today by the FTC regarding the Google Admob deal and the reasoning behind the FTC’s decision to let the deal stand:
After Thorough Review, Agency Finds Transaction Not Likely to Harm Competition
The Federal Trade Commission has closed its investigation of Google’s proposed acquisition of mobile advertising network company AdMob after thoroughly reviewing the deal and concluding that it is unlikely to harm competition in the emerging market for mobile advertising networks.
In a statement issued today, the Commission said that although the combination of the two leading mobile advertising networks raised serious antitrust issues, the agency’s concerns ultimately were overshadowed by recent developments in the market, most notably a move by Apple Computer Inc. – the maker of the iPhone – to launch its own, competing mobile ad network. In addition, a number of firms appear to be developing or acquiring smartphone platforms to better compete against Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android, and these firms would have a strong incentive to facilitate competition among mobile advertising networks.
“As a result of Apple’s entry (into the market), AdMob’s success to date on the iPhone platform is unlikely to be an accurate predictor of AdMob’s competitive significance going forward, whether AdMob is owned by Google or not,” the Commission’s statement explains.
The Commission stressed that mergers in fast-growing new markets like mobile advertising should get the same level of antitrust scrutiny as those in other markets. The statement goes on to note that, “Though we have determined not to take action today, the Commission will continue to monitor the mobile marketplace to ensure a competitive environment and to protect the interests of consumers.”
Mobile ad networks, such as those provided by Google and AdMob, sell advertising space for mobile publishers, who create applications and content for websites configured for mobile devices, primarily Apple’s iPhone and devices that run Google’s Android operating system. By “monetizing” mobile publishers’ content through the sale of advertising space, mobile ad networks play a vital role in fueling the rapid expansion of mobile applications and Internet content.
According to the FTC’s statement, evidence gathered by the agency raised important questions about the transaction. Google and AdMob have competed head-to-head for the past few years, with a notable increase in intensity during the past year. This competition has spurred innovation and allowed mobile publishers to keep a large share of the revenue generated from the sale of their ad space. The companies also have economies of scale that give them a major advantage over smaller rivals in the business, the statement says.
These concerns, however, were outweighed by recent evidence that Apple is poised to become a strong competitor in the mobile advertising market, the FTC’s statement says. Apple recently acquired Quattro Wireless and used it to launch its own iAd service. In addition, Apple can leverage its close relationships with application developers and users, its access to a large amount of proprietary user data, and its ownership of iPhone software development tools and control over the iPhone developers’ license agreement.
The Commission vote to close the investigation was 5-0.
Copies of the Commission’s statement can be found at www.ftc.gov. The FTC’s Bureau of Competition works with the Bureau of Economics to investigate alleged anticompetitive business practices and, when appropriate, recommends that the Commission take law enforcement action. To inform the Bureau about particular business practices, call 202-326-3300, send an e-mail to antitrust@ftc.gov, or write to the Office of Policy and Coordination, Room 383, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. To learn more about the Bureau of Competition, read “Competition Counts” at http://www.ftc.gov/competitioncounts.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2180
For further information about the FTC decision to approve the Google Admob deal, you can download the following letters from the attorneys involved from the FTC website:
According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the $750 million AdMob acquisition by Google could be headed to antitrust court:
Google’s purchase of AdMob would form the largest mobile-advertising company. The companies combined had 21 percent of the U.S. market in 2009, according to Karsten Weide, an analyst with researcher IDC in San Mateo. The market has been doubling or more in size annually, Weide said.
The measure to investigate further has bipartisan support with three democratic and two republican Congressmen.
“The need for a thorough review is particularly pressing given Google’s dominant position in search advertising” and “its growing influence over other forms of online advertising,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman.
We’ll be watching this story as it develops. Personally, I don’t think anything is going to happen. What do you think?
Thanks to Dr. Steven White for the tip via Twitter.
Have you done a mobile search for Olympics results and been disappointed with the number of sites you could access on a mobile phone? Are most of the results for full pc sites? What did you see, and did you see the same thing as everyone else? That’s what we’d like to know.
You’re Invited to the Experiment
This is a pretty easy experiment. Here’s how to participate:
- Type the following into your browser: Winter + Olympics + mobile
- Tell us what search engine you used
- Tell us what city/country you were in at the time of the search
- Indicate whether you used a computer or a mobile phone to get the results
- Provide the top ten results
- Post your findings in either the comments, below (moderated) or in an email to information [at] mobiEnthusiast.mobi (subject line: experiment)
Mobile Search Experiment Background
At least one prominent mobile blogger was disappointed with the small number of mobile sites that came back from his search on a mobile handset. So he did what most bloggers would do: He asked his readers to help him find out the answer.
Andy Favell, the Editor of mobiThinking asked the question, “Why are many great mobile Olympics sites not found by mobile search engines?”
This made me curious, too. Some of the people answered that mobile SEO (search engine optimization) in general is lacking. I weighed in and hypothesized that one’s location and browser type would define, in large part, which results were returned by search engines, as well as the age of the domain name and the ever-changing nature of search engine algorithms.
This morphed into a larger question about who gets to see what from mobile search. If you have a moment and want to participate, please join us.
Event to feature top media and business thought leaders
Note: the links in this story are not optimized for mobile
The Naked Media show from ScribeMedia.org is offering free web viewing of their live broadcast from the Economist Media Convergence Conference in New York City on Tuesday, October 20th @ 3:15pm Eastern Time. Register now
The Future of Media: Changing Times will explore the following topics:
- How the advent of new technologies such as e-book readers, smart phones and flexible screen technology will change the media model.
- How will newspapers, magazines, book publishers, TV stations and others dependent on existing models, adapt to this change?
- The potential impact of these new technologies over the next five years.
According to The Economist,
The surge of new technologies and social media innovations in today’s environment is significantly altering the future media landscape for marketers. Consumer behaviour is changing and the way marketers reach their audience must also change. Marketers are searching for new ways to not only reach their customers, but to understand them, to peer inside their minds. As the level of consumer understanding increases, so can the knowledge of how best to reach them. However the plethora of tools at a marketers disposal is not easy to navigate and real learning comes from a real understanding of the future of media convergence.
Media Convergence forum gathers a unique speaking faculty of thought leaders, marketing psychologists, technology experts, futurists, media and marketing professionals to look into the future to consider the ideas, technologies and tactics that tomorrow’s best organisations will adopt.
Featured Speakers
- Angela Courtin, SVP of Marketing Entertainment and Content, MySpace
- Craig Newmark, Founder, Craigslist
- Michael Lynton, Chairman and CEO, Sony Pictures
- Terry Davenport, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and Brand Strategy, Starbucks
- Jack Dorsey, Chairman, Twitter
- Jeff Jarvis, Author, What Would Google Do?
If you are in New York for the live event, take $500 off the ticket price with the code NKMD on the registration page.
Sessions Include:
- Future of media: Changing times
- How the kids are doing it: Trendsetting
- The social media phenomenon: Branding success
- New media for marketers: Behind the hype
- Demonstration competition: The most exciting and game changing technologies will be showcased
