A group representing big-spending national advertisers said Sunday it sent a letter to the Justice Department asserting an online ad partnership between Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. will stifle competition and likely raise prices.
The Association of National Advertisers said on its Web site that the letter to Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, came after a “comprehensive, independent analysis” and meetings with Google and Yahoo executives.
The ANA did not disclose the text of the letter but said it states its concern that “a Google-Yahoo partnership will control 90 percent of search advertising inventory and … will likely diminish competition, increase concentration of market power, limit choices currently available and potentially raise prices to advertisers for high quality, affordable search advertising.”
The ANA says it represents 400 companies – inclu ding Apple Inc., The Coca-Cola Co., Exxon Mobil Corp., Proctor & Gamble Co. and General Motors Corp. – with 9,000 brands.
The Justice Department and several state attorneys general are examining the partnership between Yahoo and Google, which would allow Google to sell some of the ads displayed alongside search results on Yahoo’s Web site. Yahoo and Google have insisted the deal would benefit consumers and advertisers.
U.S. lawmakers, as well as consumer and civic groups, have also voiced concern over the deal.
Yahoo embraced the partnership with its rival as an alternative to a $47.5 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft Corp.
“Wicked,” “Shogun” Top SAG Awards With 5 Nominations Each
“Wicked” topped nominations to the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards on Wednesday, landing a leading five nominations including best ensemble, and individual nods for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey. On the TV side, Shogun led the way with a tally of five nods.
Out-of-control wildfires that swept across Los Angeles and Southern California on Tuesday night forced the Screen Actors Guild to cancel its plans to announce the nominations live Wednesday morning. The nominations were instead issued by press release by
SAG, which last year began a multiyear deal with Netflix to stream the awards.
The smash hit musical “Wicked” saw its Oscar chances rise in the SAG nominations, which came the morning after the film was celebrated by the National Board of Review Awards in New York. “Wicked” even scored a nod for best stunt ensemble.
The other nominees for best ensemble are: “Anora,” “Conclave,” “Emilia Pérez” and “A Complete Unknown.”
It was an especially strong showing for the Bob Dylan drama “A Complete Unknown.” It came away with four nominations, including Timothée Chalamet for best male actor, and supporting nods for both Edward Norton and Monica Barbaro.
The SAG Awards are among the most closely watched Oscar bellwethers. Their picks don’t always align exactly with those of the film academy, but they often do.
The last three best ensemble winners — “Oppenheimer,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “CODA” — all went on to win best picture at the Academy Awards. All but one of the SAG acting winners of the last three years has also won at the Oscars. The sole exception was Lily Gladstone, who won SAG’s award for female actor last year for “Killers of... Read More