CNET and CBS - an act of desperation?
Adrian McDermott
May 17th, 2008
Big Payday for Web 2.0 is an interesting blog from Wired
about this week’s Web 2.0 deals - as CBS bought CNET for $1.8 billion and Ask.com (owned by IAC) bought Lexico, parent company of Dictionary.com, for a reported $100 million, to name a couple of the deals. The blog suggests weak IPOs at the beginning of the year for Classmates.com, for example, may have pushed companies towards sales exits rather than IPOs.
The surprise is that both buyers and sellers are in place. The need for strong online news and search remains strong, of course, and it’s not just about Yahoo and Google.
But is CBS buying at the right time or price, or is it a sign of an old media company getting nervous? My personal opinion is that it’s better for old media companies to grow their own brand online, but CBS may feel they are a bit late in the game. A few commentators think this is a smart move, but most - particularly Douglas McIntyre at 24/7 WallStreet - seem to think it is one company that is going nowhere buying another company that is going nowhere.