Comcast Unhappy With Google On Search Deal; Talking To MSN; Other Ad Inventory Talks
Comcast, the second largest broadband ISP in U.S., is in talks to use Microsoft's search services on its broadband portal, a sign the cable titan isn't happy about its current search deal with Google, reports WSJ, citing sources.
Context & Ripple Effects
Comcast's move fits an arc that opened in October 2005, when big media and access players circled AOL for a stake — distribution owners realizing that portal and search inventory attached to their subscriber base was an asset to be auctioned, not a fixed partnership. Two years later, the second-largest U.S. broadband ISP is applying that lesson to its own portal: WSJ-sourced reporting confirms Comcast is unhappy with its current Google search deal, while talks to put Microsoft's MSN search on the broadband portal and separate discussions over ad inventory remain unconfirmed rumors.
Why it matters: default search placement on an ISP portal is among the highest-margin traffic a search engine can buy, and Comcast signaling willingness to switch suppliers turns that placement into competitive inventory.
First-order effects
- Microsoft gets a live shot at displacing Google as the default search on a major U.S. broadband portal, gaining query volume for its ad platform at exactly the moment its search share needs it.
- Google must defend an incumbent distribution deal against a rival bidder, forcing it to compete on revenue-share terms with an access provider rather than set them.
Second-order effects
- Other ISPs with default search contracts gain immediate leverage — if Comcast can credibly threaten a switch, every portal operator's next renewal becomes a renegotiation.
- MSN's pitch to Comcast effectively prices search distribution per-subscriber, pushing the industry toward explicit traffic-acquisition economics between access providers and search engines.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, search defaults stop being settled entitlements and become annually contested inventory, structurally shifting bargaining power from search engines toward whoever owns the subscriber relationship.
- For Microsoft, buying distribution through partners like Comcast becomes the template for closing the query-volume gap with Google short of building consumer share organically — a strategy whose profitability depends on revenue per search holding up.
The trend: Broadband providers are converting their subscribers' default search traffic into auctioned ad inventory, forcing Google and Microsoft to bid for distribution they once took for granted.