Bits and Bytes for August 2, 2004

Viacom Buys Rest of Sportsline.com

Viacom has agreed to purchase the portion of Sportsline.com it didn’t already own for $1.75 a share, or around $47 million. The media conglomerate intends to merge the online sports operation with CBS Sports. The two entities have collaborated for several years.

“We’ve enjoyed a collaborative relationship with SportsLine dating back to 1997, and this acquisition complements our strategy of expanding Viacom’s presence in what has become the fastest growing advertising sector,” said Leslie Moonves, co-president and co-chief operating officer of Viacom.

Back in May, Sportsline.com said it was exploring “strategic alternatives.”

America Online Closes Buy of Advertising.com

America Online’s acquisition of Advertising.com has been completed, the companies said Monday.

AOL agreed to acquire Advertising.com in late June in a deal valued at $435 million. The portal player hopes to use the ad network’s technology to better leverage pay-per-click inventory across all of its Web properties.

DMA Coaches Members on E-Mail Authentication

The Direct Marketing Association is holding online seminars to train its members to comply with the Sender ID email authentication scheme.

E-mail authentication efforts — which have been praised by the ISPs’ Anti-Spam Technical Alliance and the Federal Trade Commission — are aimed at verifying the sender of an email message. Authentication is thought to be the first step toward combating phishing, spoofing and, eventually, spam.

“Compliance with Sender ID could become important as a means of remaining a competitive emailer beginning as early as this October,” said H. Robert Wientzen, president and CEO of the DMA. “For many organizations, conforming with this new standard will be a complicated task. One way or another, we think the time to make preparations for Sender ID is now.”

The DMA/AIM E-mail Authentication Webinars will take place on August 18 and again on August 19.

By the time the events take place, Wientzen will have stepped down as president and CEO, and Jay Greco will have taken his place. The switch is scheduled to occur August 16.