DailyDigVid Review: Microsoft, Yahoo! Back at It

Today, much of the industry is in New Orleans, attending the National Cable Show. In the show’s opening session, cable industry leaders touted their plans to add a national broadband wireless network – or mobile communications – to their existing triple-play platform of video, voice and data. I for one look forward to the day when broadband wireless is available almost anywhere I am, regardless of who is providing the service.

The big news of the weekend was that Microsoft and Yahoo! are trying to work out their on-again, off-again relationship, this time taking a slower, more casual approach. Now the big question is exactly what that relationship will be. Will Microsoft buy Yahoo!’s search engine business? Will it be some sort of ad-sharing arrangement? Details are limited, but most analysts seem to agree that Microsoft is desperate to do something.

Meanwhile, with Yahoo! playing really hard to get, Microsoft also is apparently trying to strike up a relationship with Facebook, to the tune of more than $15 billion.  

In non-Microsoft news, and yes, there is some: Scripps Networks made a deal to provide YouTube with clips from its cable networks (HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living, etc.) and those channels’ accompanying broadband sites.

Internet advertising revenue increased by 26% to $21.2 billion in 2007, reports the IAB and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, despite the current economic uncertainty.