AOL, Yahoo! and Microsoft are planning to start selling ad inventory on each others' sites, in an effort they hope will make them more competitive with Google. Executives from all three companies briefed a group of top web publishers and ad buyers about the plan at a dinner presentation in Manhattan, All Things D reports. AOL, Yahoo and Microsoft hope to convince big web properties to share some of their ad inventory as well, and to get big ad holding companies to funnel some of their purchases through the consortium. According to people who attended the meeting. Microsoft, Yahoo and AOL have agreed to sell each other's Class 2 display inventory, that is graphic ads the companies can't sell on their own and would normally hand over to ad networks. For example, if AOL has a large order for a certain kind of ad impression, it will fill it with its own inventory as well as what's available from Microsoft and Yahoo. The three companies will share revenue on the ads. The plan, which is supposed to start up by the end of this year, doesn't require exclusivity from any of the players, and it doesn't prevent any consortium member from working with third party.
