Microsoft makes TV advertising play

Global - Microsoft has made its first foray into TV advertising with the acquisition of TV advertising solutions provider Navic Networks.

The news has prompted speculation the computer technology giant is retaliating against the recently announced partnership between Yahoo and Google, which will see the latter supply some of the advertising on Yahoo.

"Television media represents the largest percentage of advertisers and agencies' media budget today. Together, Navic and Microsoft will deliver addressable television advertising solutions to help our partners better manage media spend by increasing advertiser reach and ROI, and maximising publisher yield on television advertising," Brian McAndrews, SVP of the Microsoft's Advertiser and Publisher Solutions (APS) Group, said.

Microsoft will now be able to facilitate digital advertising across online and offline environments. Google also has a presence in the TV advertising market, having pulled its Google TV Ads business out of beta in April.