CIQ Headlines for May 22, 2007

CIQ Headlines

Online Health Category Surges–(Media Post) ComScore reports a 12% increase in visitors to health information sites like WebMD. That’s an average of 55.3 million monthly visitors. CIQ: We believe that niche sites will continue to enjoy strength over the generalist online portals.

Can Madison Avenue Compete with Google & Microsoft?— (Media Daily News) With the multi-billion-dollar purchases of DoubleClick by Google and aQuantive by Microsoft, “The reality is that, with the exception of certain tightly controlled traditional media, such as network TV and big consumer magazines, big agency holding companies have only a minority share of the world’s advertising marketplace.” This article raises the possible scenario of one of the big 6 advertising agencies being aquired by one of the big four digital behemoths. CIQ: One of our core beliefs is that, in an age of media emergence, you will see these kinds of “cats sleeping with dogs” scenarios.

Making Real Money on Virtual Worlds –(Business Week) Sony is said to be considering paying $400 million for ClubPenguin. Webkinz may also be a target. CIQ: There is lots of speculation about virtual worlds taking over the experience of the web. Neopets has been around for at least 7 years. We believe it’s a strong category that other players are beginning to capitalize on.