Did Dow Jones Co. Misstep by Pulling CNBC’s Ads?
With yesterday’s launch of News Corp.’s Fox Business Network and competitor CNBC’s ad contract with two Dow Jones websites, there was bound to be conflict. Even though News Corp.’s purchase of Dow Jones Co. isn’t complete, many people are calling foul on an online ad switch involving CNBC that took place early this morning. Here’s the rub according to the New York Times: Both MarketWatch and The Wall Street Journal’s Web site, WSJ.com, filled up the exact spaces CNBC had purchased with rotating ads that included some for Fox Business Network. These were accompanied by links to foxbusiness.com, the Web site of the Fox Business Network. The ads for Fox started running soon after midnight. We knew it was going to be a fierce battle for network news supremacy — but this fierce? Before throwing the yellow flag, we reached out to a Down Jones Co. spokesperson to get some background information. Here’s what we got: “As is standard practice, we retain the right to adjust the precise placement
