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  • Groupon Adds In-Store Coupons To ‘Freebies’ Category

    Groupon Adds In-Store Coupons To ‘Freebies’ Category

    Groupon is now providing in-store coupons in its Freebies offering, giving retailers another way to drive traffic to their stores.

    The company says it’s “providing national retailers with a programmatic way to reach millions of potential customers with targeted promotions that drive traffic into their business.”

    “With the addition of in-store coupons, national retailers can now use Groupon’s Freebies category to generate sales across multiple channels––whether it’s in store or online,” it adds.

    Freebies now includes in-store coupons for over 250 national retailers and 245,000 locations. Staples, Macy’s, Toys ‘R’ Us, Sephora, JCPenney, and PetSmart are among the brands already taking advantage.

    The new coupons are available for national retailers right now, but the company says it will extend the offering to small businesses later this year.

    The Freebies category was launched late last year. It includes about 30,000 digital coupons, promotion codes, sales, giveaways, and samples from about 6,000 brands.

    Image via BusinessWire

  • AOL Launches Programmatic Ad Platform ‘One’

    AOL Launches Programmatic Ad Platform ‘One’

    AOL has rebranded AOL Networks to AOL Platforms, and announced the launch of One, a cross-screen programmatic ad platform, which combines the teams and technologies behind Adap.tv, AdLearn Open Platform (AOP) and MarketPlace, and lives under the AOL Platforms brand.

    Here’s the official description for One:

    ONE will be the first platform that empowers brands with a holistic view of the consumer’s journey through the marketing funnel, and makes that insight actionable, in real-time on the platform. Development on ONE is underway and customers will be able to start using portions of the platform later this year. The single, unified platform takes media planning and management to a new level, with predictive analytics that provide immediate insights on metrics like reach, frequency, and performance, and post-campaign insights that look across all screens and formats to deliver immediate impact on brand metrics. It is completely format, screen and inventory agnostic – from video, display and TV, to tablet, desktop and mobile devices, to reserved and non-reserved inventory across AOL or any other publisher or media source.

    IPG Mediabrands plans to be the charter agency network partner for One. The news was announced at ad:tech in San Francisco.

    AOL CEO Tim Armstrong said, “AOL has spent the last four years building platforms to facilitate the efficient and effective flow of advertising dollars to digital. We build brands – our own, and those of more than 22,000 publishers in our global network and the thousands of marketers we work with daily to help them accomplish their business goals in today’s fast moving, dynamic market. On the platforms side of our business, as machines automate more media decisions across TV to digital, we are well-positioned to help advertisers, agencies and publishers realize the true value of data-driven advertising.”

    Bob Lord, CEO of AOL Platforms added, “Our industry has developed too many niche offerings and specialized services over the last 25 years, and chaos in ad tech is at an all-time high. The inefficiencies, ineffectiveness and expense of managing multiple teams, tools and metrics for display, mobile and video, across all devices, are stifling.”

    “The holy grail of marketing is helping marketers understand how direct response and brand budgets can interact together,” he said. “With the goal of driving economic efficiencies and media effectiveness, ONE ensures that data drives media selection and allocation, pricing and creative. It is the integrator of media across every screen and the automator of decisions that have long not needed human attention. I believe a platform like ONE – that is open and that doesn’t discriminate – will win.”

    “Our mission is to foster an open, global ecosystem that simplifies digital adverting, enabling customers to efficiently leverage the entire technology and data ecosystem,” Lord said. “Customers who have a commitment to an external partner for a piece of the ad tech stack will be able to integrate and plug that solution into our platform giving advertisers and publishers alike incredible flexibility with elements like data and attribution to join and manage all of their investments on a single platform in real time.”

    ONE will be sold as an enterprise solution, and will be used by AOL itself as its dedicated programmatic platform.

    Image via AOL

  • Here’s 8 Hours Of Google Developer Day At GDC. Go Wild. [Video]

    Here’s 8 Hours Of Google Developer Day At GDC. Go Wild. [Video]

    Google held (and livestreamed) its Developer Day at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco yesterday. The recording, which is over 8 hours long, is now up for all to view.

    Dig in.

    Below is the full agenda via the GDC site, so you know what your’e in for.

    10:00-10:15am
    Developer Day Kick-Off

    10:15-10:45am
    Growth Hacking with Play Games
    Let’s look at how you can harness the incredible growth of Google Play Games to rapidly expand the user base of your game, and how Play Games assists in discovery, engagement and retention.

    10:45-11:15am
    Engaging Your Entire Community
    Your player community is stronger when they can all play together. So why are you needlessly dividing them up into arbitrary groups across screens and devices? Let’s look at how Google Play Games is letting all of your players play together as one big happy family.

    11:15-11:30am Break

    11:30-12:00pm
    Making Money on Google Play: Best Practices in Monetization
    To be successful, you need to learn from the best. This talk will review commercially successful games on Google Play and common themes they share.

    12:00-12:30pm
    Grow Your Game Revenue with AdMob
    Google advertisers spend more ad dollars in games than any other type of app! Discover how you can maximize your game’s earnings with awesome ads and recent innovations from AdMob.

    12:30-1:20pm Lunch

    1:20-1:45pm
    Okay Glass, Play a Game

    1:45-2:15pm
    The Next Level of In-game Advertising
    Ever wonder how the mobile ads ecosystem works and how ads reach your game’s inventory?

    Join us to learn the inner workings of programmatic and direct sales advertising, including an overview of the tools you can use to take your in-game advertising revenue to the next level.

    2:15-2:30pm Break

    2:30-3:00pm
    From Players to Customers: Tracking Revenue with Google Analytics
    What makes your players spend in your game? Who are your high value users and how do they play your game? Learn how Google Analytics can help you find the insights for the users that matter the most for you.

    3:00-3:30pm
    Take Your Users to the Next Level
    Small tweaks to your game can result in significant revenue increase. However you cannot rely only on personal opinions; hypotheses need to be confirmed by users. In this session you will learn how to use Google SDKs to control experiments and configuration without shipping a new version of your app.

    3:30-4:00pm
    Build Games that Scale in the Cloud
    Your game is a living, breathing creation that takes a lot of time and attention even after launch. So why worry about your technical infrastructure? Come hear how to build games that scale that run on Google’s state-of-the-art infrastructure.

    4:00-4:20pm Coffee Break

    4:20-4:35pm
    Looking to the Future

    4:35-5:00pm
    From Box2D to Liquid Fun: Just Add Water-like Particles!
    LiquidFun, Google’s new extension to Box2D, adds realistic fluid physics to any game. We’ll show how it works, and explore how it can enliven your next game with gooey, sticky, powdery, or jelly-like fun!

    5:00-5:25pm
    Bringing the Power of YouTube to your Games

    5:25-5:45pm
    Texture Wranglin’ : Getting your Android Game Assets Under Control
    Bloated APKs make customers sad, and with >60% of sizes coming from textures, it’s easy to see the culprit. Get your texture footprint back under control. This talk will focus on advanced processing techniques to reduce PNG sizes; Migration to GPU formats, as well as WEBP; and advanced techniques for compressing sprite animations.

    5:45-6:00pm Wrap Up

    Image via YouTube

  • Google Adds DoubleClick Ad Exchange Real-Time Bidding From Cloud Platform

    Google Adds DoubleClick Ad Exchange Real-Time Bidding From Cloud Platform

    Google announced that it is now letting marketers conduct real-time bidding on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange right from Google Cloud Platform.

    Ad Exchange users hosted on Google Compute Engine will always get 100 milliseconds for bid request processing and free network transit from Google Cloud Platform to all Ad Exchange trading locations (North America – east coast and west coast – Europe and Asia Pacific).

    “Real time bidding (or programmatic buying), is one of the fastest growing methods of buying and selling ads online, and is predicted to account for 25% of all display spending by next year,” says DoubleClick Ad Exchange Director of Product Management Scott Spencer. “Marketers are embracing this model as it allows them to connect to audiences at scale quickly and we’ve been making ongoing investments to help them grow their programmatic businesses.”

    “Speed is critical to success in programmatic buying and many exchanges, including the DoubleClick exchange, require that bidders respond to an ad request within a certain time limit in order to preserve the real-time nature of the marketplace,” he says. “Real time bidding transactions typically happen within 100 milliseconds from a user visiting a website.”

    Google is offering Gold support for Cloud Platform to customers hosting their bidding infrastructure on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange.

    Image via DoubleClick

  • Chrome Web Store Gets New Monetization Options

    Chrome Web Store Gets New Monetization Options

    Since its inception, the Chrome Web Store has been a great place for developers to market and sell Chrome apps. The options available to developers were always a little slim though. Starting today, Google is fixing that.

    Google announced today that Chrome Web Store is getting new monetization options, including in-app payment support. These new options are in addition to new publishing options rolling out today that Google says will help developers focus more on making great content and less on overhead.

    Starting with monetization, Google says that extensions can now be monetized either through up-front sales or subscription fees. Developers can also make money through in-app payments. Speaking of which, in-app payments have been added as another monetization option for packaged apps.

    Themes have also been added to the list of Chrome Web Store items that can be monetized, but you can only offer them as paid up-front items. Of course, this only makes sense as you can’t really offer a theme subscription or in-app payments. Still, it’s always good to see people being able to finally make money off of their creative work.

    So, now you know about the new monetization options, but what about the new publishing options? For starters, developers can now manage all of their in-app payments directly from the developer dashboard. From the dashboard, you can also also “enable or disable products, provide localized descriptions, [and] set prices for different regions.”

    Another new feature for packaged apps and extensions is the free trial option. Developers can now specify a certain amount of time that an app can be used for free. After that, a purchase must be made if the user wants to keep using it.

    Perhaps the best new feature on the publishing side of things, however, is an update to the Chrome Web Store API that allows develoeprs to “programmatically create, update and publish items in the Web store.” In other words, the Chrome Web Store now supports developers who use an automated deployment process.

    As always, Google welcomes feedback from the developer community. You can submit comments and bug reports via Stack Overflow.

    Image via Chrome Web Store

  • Google And Yandex Partner Up On Display Ads

    Google And Yandex Partner Up On Display Ads

    Yandex, Russia’s leading search engine company, announced that it has struck an advertising partnership with Google, which will see Google’s DoubleClick Bid Manger connect to Yandex’s own real-time bidding system. Yandex’s demand-side platform AWAPS will join Google’s DoubleClick AdExcahnge.

    The deal is only related to display advertising, and has no effect on text-based contextual ads.

    Google advertisers will get access to Yandex Advertising Network inventory, and Yandex clients will be able to bid for DoubleClick AdExchange inventory. Yandex says the partnership will result in a larger number of bidders, and will boost revenue.

    “We are happy about this partnership that will help to develop the RTB [real-time bidding] ecosystem in Russia,” says Google’s Frank Einecke, who heads SEEMEA Media Buying Solutions for DoubleClick. “Given the adoption speed of RTB in this market, accessing local and global qualified inventory is key to our publishers and advertisers who are looking for incremental reach. We are very excited to see the Russian market moving towards innovative programmatic solutions that can serve both branding and performance strategies in reaching their targets in a more efficient way.”

    “The integration of the two advertising systems will undoubtedly stimulate the online advertising market,” said Nikolay Danilov, head of Sales Technologies at Yandex. “The transparency that is characteristic of RTB systems creates new possibilities for growth. The more players, the wider range of ad inventory, the greater the competition for placement, and the higher the quality of the ads themselves. We anticipate that the partnership with Google will result in increased display advertising sales and improvements in ad quality.”

    Yandex says the integration of the partnership will take several months to complete.

    Image via Google

  • AOL Earnings Released, Company Posts Strongest Quarter In 10 Years

    AOL Earnings Released, Company Posts Strongest Quarter In 10 Years

    AOL just released its Q4 earnings report, delivering its strongest revenue growth in a decade.

    Total revenue grew 13% year-over-year, mostly due to global ad revenue growth, which grew 23% itself. This includes 63% growth in third party network revenue and 7% growth in global display. Global search revenue decreased by 2%.

    CEO Tim Armstrong said, “2013 was AOL’s most successful year in the last decade, and we accomplished our goal of industry level growth at scale for AOL. AOL’s exceptionally talented team continues to execute against our strategy and our results show meaningful progress in the most important areas of media and technology. AOL plans to invest in our market leading strategies in 2014, while we continue to grow the company.”

    Earnings per share didn’t quite meet Wall Street expectations. It will be interesting to see how the coming quarters look without Patch. AOL announced it would get rid of (while keeping a minority stake in) Patch last month with the deal to close early in the quarter.

    Shares are up in pre-market trading.

    Here’s the release in its entirety:

    NEW YORK–()–AOL Inc. (NYSE:AOL) released fourth quarter 2013 results today.

    “AOL’s exceptionally talented team continues to execute against our strategy and our results show meaningful progress in the most important areas of media and technology. AOL plans to invest in our market leading strategies in 2014, while we continue to grow the company.”

    “2013 was AOL’s most successful year in the last decade, and we accomplished our goal of industry level growth at scale for AOL,” said Tim Armstrong, AOL Chairman and CEO. “AOL’s exceptionally talented team continues to execute against our strategy and our results show meaningful progress in the most important areas of media and technology. AOL plans to invest in our market leading strategies in 2014, while we continue to grow the company.”

    Summary Results
    In millions (except per share amounts)
    Q4 2013 Q4 2012 Change FY 2013 FY 2012 Change
    Revenue
    Advertising $ 507.0 $ 410.6 23 % $ 1,613.4 $ 1,418.5 14 %
    Global Display 181.7 169.8 7 % 610.2 575.4 6 %
    Global Search 101.7 103.6 -2 % 388.5 371.5 5 %
    AOL Properties 283.4 273.4 4 % 998.7 946.9 5 %
    Third Party Network 223.6 137.2 63 % 614.7 471.6 30 %
    Subscription 156.7 174.2 -10 % 650.1 705.3 -8 %
    Other 15.3 14.7 4 % 56.4 67.9 -17 %
    Total revenues $ 679.0 $ 599.5 13 % $ 2,319.9 $ 2,191.7 6 %
    Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (Adjusted OIBDA) (1) $ 147.3 $ 123.3 19 % $ 480.7 $ 412.6 17 %
    Operating income $ 71.8 $ 68.2 5 % $ 190.3 $ 1,201.9 -84 %
    Net income attributable to AOL Inc. $ 36.0 $ 35.7 1 % $ 92.4 $ 1,048.4 -91 %
    Diluted EPS $ 0.43 $ 0.41 5 % $ 1.13 $ 11.21 -90 %
    Cash provided by operating activities $ 90.0 $ 76.7 17 % $ 318.9 $ 365.6 -13 %
    Free Cash Flow (1) $ 60.4 $ 46.3 30 % $ 192.1 $ 245.1 -22 %
    (1) See Page 9 for a reconciliation of Adjusted OIBDA and Free Cash Flow to the GAAP financial measures we consider most comparable.

    Q4 Consolidated AOL Revenue Trends:

    • Q4 total revenue grew 13% year-over-year, driven by global advertising revenue growth.
    • Global advertising revenue grew 23% year-over-year reflecting:
      • 63% growth in Third Party Network revenue driven by growth in the sale of premium formats across AOL’s programmatic platform and by the inclusion of revenue from Adap.tv. Third Party Network Revenue grew 20% excluding Adap.tv.
      • 7% growth in global display revenue driven by improved pricing related to growth in the sale of premium formats across AOL’s properties.
      • 2% decline in global search revenue driven primarily by fewer search queries resulting from a decline in domestic AOL subscribers.
    • Subscription revenue declined 10% year-over-year and domestic AOL subscriber monthly average churn was 1.3% in Q4 2013 compared to a 10% decline year-over-year in subscription revenue and 1.8% monthly average churn in Q4 2012.

    Q4 Consolidated AOL Profitability Trends:

    • Operating income, net income and diluted EPS were negatively impacted by a pre-tax restructuring charge of $13.2 million, largely related to a reduction in personnel, including Patch.
    • Adjusted OIBDA grew 19% year-over-year, driven by total revenue growth and a 25% decline in general and administrative expenses, partially offset by a 17% growth in costs of revenue expenses.
    • Cost of revenues increased $70.5 million year-over-year, reflecting a $67.4 million increase in total Traffic Acquisition Costs (TAC). TAC increases were driven by the inclusion of Adap.tv, growth in Third Party Network revenue and growth in our search marketing related efforts. Increased expenses associated with Adap.tv offset approximately $11 million of special (expense) items from Q4 2012 that did not reoccur in Q4 2013.
    • General and administrative expenses declined $27.6 million in Q4 2013 year-over-year, due to a decline in marketing costs primarily related to AOL’s continued cost reduction efforts, and a decline in legal and consulting fees.

    AOL Asset, Cash & Cash Flow Trends:

    • AOL had $207.3 million of cash and equivalents at December 31, 2013. Q4 cash provided by operating activities and Free Cash Flow were $90.0 million and $60.4 million, up 17% and 30% year-over-year, respectively.
    • AOL repurchased 0.9 million shares of common stock at an average price of $34.60 in Q4 2013, or approximately $32.6 million in aggregate. In 2013, AOL repurchased 3.9 million shares at an average price of $34.75, or approximately $135 million in aggregate. AOL has approximately $115 million left in its current share repurchase authorization.
    • On December 31, 2013, AOL entered into an agreement to contribute Patch into a new joint venture which will be operated and majority owned by Hale Global. In connection with the transaction, AOL incurred $5.8 million in restructuring charges in Q4 2013. The transaction closed on January 29, 2014.
    • On January 23, 2014, AOL acquired Gravity, a premier personalization technology and publisher solutions business, for approximately $82 million in cash. An additional approximately $8 million of consideration will be deferred and paid over a two-year service period for certain Gravity employees. As part of the transaction, AOL will acquire approximately $12 million of net operating losses, which is expected to result in a future cash tax benefit to AOL of approximately $5 million.
    DISCUSSION OF SEGMENT RESULTS
    Q4’13 Q4’12 Change
    (In millions)
    Revenue
    Brand Group 222.0 213.2 4 %
    Membership Group 209.3 230.8 -9 %
    AOL Networks 275.0 183.5 50 %
    Corporate & Other 0.0 0.3 -100 %
    Intersegment eliminations (27.3 ) (28.3 ) 4 %
    Total Revenue $ 679.0 $ 599.5 13 %
    Adjusted OIBDA
    Brand Group 35.6 8.8 305 %
    Membership Group 145.9 158.7 -8 %
    AOL Networks 5.9 6.4 -8 %
    Corporate & Other (40.1 ) (50.6 ) 21 %
    Total Adjusted OIBDA $ 147.3 $ 123.3 19 %

    Brand Group

    Brand Group revenue growth reflects continued growth in global display. Brand Group display revenue grew 6% globally driven by improved pricing as a result of growth in premium format impressions. Brand Group search revenue was flat year-over-year.

    Brand Group Adjusted OIBDA improved significantly versus the prior year period, primarily due to the growth in display revenue discussed above as well as a reduction in personnel, primarily at Patch, and lower marketing costs. Lower year-over-year Brand Group operating expenses were partially offset by growth in TAC associated with AOL’s search marketing-related efforts.

    Membership Group

    Membership Group revenue declines reflect a 10% decline in subscription revenue driven by 10% fewer domestic AOL subscribers year-over-year. Membership Group revenue declines were partially offset by a 28% year-over-year reduction in churn rate to 1.3% and by 4% year-over-year growth in domestic average monthly subscription revenue per AOL subscriber (ARPU). Reduced churn and ARPU growth continues to reflect the benefits of AOL’s retention program and the impact of a price rationalization program. The decrease in Membership Group revenue year-over-year was also impacted by a decrease in search revenue of 7% due to fewer search queries resulting from a decline in domestic AOL subscribers.

    Membership Group Adjusted OIBDA declines primarily reflect the decline in subscription revenue discussed above, partially offset by a decline in costs associated with the decline in subscribers.

    AOL Networks

    AOL Networks revenue increased 50% year-over-year, driven by significant growth in Third Party Network revenue which includes Adap.tv. Excluding Adap.tv, Third Party Network revenue grew approximately 20% year-over-year, driven by growth in the sale of premium formats across AOL’s programmatic platform. AOL Networks’ year-over-year revenue comparison was negatively impacted by the divestiture of StudioNow in Q1 2013. StudioNow contributed $1.4 million in revenue to AOL Networks in Q4 2012.

    AOL Networks Adjusted OIBDA declined $0.5 million year-over-year driven by increased investments in our programmatic platforms and premium formats.

    Corporate & Other

    Corporate & Other Adjusted OIBDA improved significantly year-over-year, primarily driven by declines in marketing costs as a result of AOL’s broader cost reduction efforts, and a decline in legal costs.

    Tax

    AOL had Q4 2013 pre-tax income of $70.8 million and income tax expense of $35.3 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 49.9%. This compares to an effective tax rate of 47.2% for Q4 2012. The effective tax rate for Q4 2013 differed from the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate of 35.0% primarily due to the impact of foreign losses that did not produce a tax benefit. The effective tax rate for Q4 2012 differed from the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate due to the impact of foreign losses that did not produce a tax benefit and the impact of changes in state tax rates and apportionment on AOL’s deferred tax assets.

    Cash Flow

    Q4 2013 cash provided by operating activities was $90.0 million, while Free Cash Flow was $60.4 million, both up year-over-year primarily due to growth in Adjusted OIBDA, partially offset by timing of working capital.

    CONSOLIDATED OPERATING METRICS
    Q4 2013 Q4 2012 Y/Y Change Q3 2013 Q/Q Change
    Subscriber Information
    Domestic AOL subscribers (in thousands) (1) 2,501 2,794 -10 % 2,508 0 %
    ARPU (1) $ 20.01 $ 19.27 4 % $ 20.15 -1 %
    Domestic AOL subscriber monthly average churn (2) 1.3 % 1.8 % -28 % 1.4 % -7 %
    Unique Visitors (in millions) (3)
    Domestic average monthly unique visitors to AOL Properties 120 113 6 % 115 4 %
    Domestic average monthly unique visitors to AOL Advertising Network 207 187 11 % 196 5 %
    (1) Domestic AOL subscribers include subscribers participating in introductory free-trial periods and subscribers that are paying no monthly fees or reduced monthly fees through member service and retention programs. Individuals who are only registered for our free offerings, including subscribers who have migrated from paid subscription plans, are not included in the AOL subscriber numbers presented above. Additionally, only those individuals whose subscription includes AOL-brand dial-up access service are included in the AOL subscriber numbers above. ARPU is calculated as domestic average monthly subscription revenue per AOL subscriber.
    (2) Churn represents the percentage of AOL subscribers that are either terminated or cancel our services, factoring in new and reactivated subscribers. Monthly average churn is calculated as the monthly average number of terminations plus cancellations divided by the initial AOL subscriber base plus any new registrations and reactivations for the applicable period.
    (3) See “Unique Visitor Metrics” on page 10 of this press release.

    Webcast and Conference Call Information

    AOL Inc. will host a conference call to discuss fourth quarter 2013 financial results on Thursday, February 6, 2014, at 8:00 am ET. To access the call, parties in the United States and Canada should call toll-free (800) 237.9752 and other international parties should call (617) 847.8706. Additionally, a live webcast of the conference call, together with supplemental financial information, can be accessed through the Company’s Investor Relations website at http://ir.aol.com. In addition, an archive of the webcast can be accessed through the link above for one year following the conference call, and an audio replay of the call will be available for two weeks following the conference call by calling (888) 286.8010 and other international parties should call (617) 801.6888. The access code for the replay is 64912086.

    FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

    AOL Inc.
    Consolidated Statements of Operations
    (In millions, except per share amounts)
    Three Months Ended December 31, Years Ended December 31,
    2013 2012 2013 2012
    (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited)
    Revenues:
    Advertising $ 507.0 $ 410.6 $ 1,613.4 $ 1,418.5
    Subscription 156.7 174.2 650.1 705.3
    Other 15.3 14.7 56.4 67.9
    Total revenues 679.0 599.5 2,319.9 2,191.7
    Costs of revenues 494.6 424.1 1,706.2 1,587.2
    General and administrative 84.4 112.0 322.0 413.2
    Amortization of intangible assets 15.4 9.6 45.1 38.2
    Restructuring costs 13.2 2.4 41.3 10.1
    Goodwill impairment charge 17.5
    Income from licensing of intellectual property (96.0 )
    (Gain) loss on disposal of assets, net (0.4 ) (16.8 ) (2.5 ) (962.9 )
    Operating income 71.8 68.2 190.3 1,201.9
    Other income (loss), net (1.0 ) (1.1 ) (6.6 ) 8.2
    Income from operations before income taxes 70.8 67.1 183.7 1,210.1
    Income tax provision 35.3 31.7 93.1 162.4
    Net income $ 35.5 $ 35.4 $ 90.6 $ 1,047.7
    Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests 0.5 0.3 1.8 0.7
    Net income attributable to AOL Inc. $ 36.0 $ 35.7 $ 92.4 $ 1,048.4
    Per share information attributable to AOL Inc. common stockholders:
    Basic net income per common share $ 0.46 $ 0.43 $ 1.19 $ 11.51
    Diluted net income per common share $ 0.43 $ 0.41 $ 1.13 $ 11.21
    Shares used in computing basic income per common share 78.9 83.7 77.6 91.1
    Shares used in computing diluted income per common share 83.5 88.1 82.0 93.5
    Cash dividends paid per common share $ $ 5.15 $ $ 5.15
    Depreciation expense by function:
    Costs of revenues $ 28.9 $ 30.3 $ 119.0 $ 126.5
    General and administrative 2.6 2.8 9.9 12.2
    Total depreciation expense $ 31.5 $ 33.1 $ 128.9 $ 138.7
    Equity-based compensation by function:
    Costs of revenues $ 10.4 $ 5.3 $ 29.2 $ 18.9
    General and administrative 5.2 5.9 17.8 20.6
    Total equity-based compensation $ 15.6 $ 11.2 $ 47.0 $ 39.5
    Traffic Acquisition Costs (included in costs of revenues) $ 171.5 $ 104.1 $ 479.4 $ 356.9
    Third Party Network Traffic Acquisition Costs $ 144.9 $ 85.6 $ 393.8 $ 306.7
    AOL Inc.
    Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (In millions, except per share amounts)
    December 31, December 31,
    2013 2012
    Assets (unaudited)
    Current assets:
    Cash and equivalents $ 207.3 $ 466.6
    Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $8.3 and $6.6, respectively 491.0 351.9
    Prepaid expenses and other current assets 34.1 28.5
    Deferred income taxes, net 30.7 40.6
    Total current assets 763.1 887.6
    Property and equipment, net 467.9 478.3
    Goodwill 1,361.7 1,084.1
    Intangible assets, net 208.4 133.2
    Long-term deferred income taxes, net 110.6 148.8
    Other long-term assets 71.7 65.3
    Total assets $ 2,983.4 $ 2,797.3
    Liabilities, Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest and Equity
    Current liabilities:
    Accounts payable $ 101.0 $ 76.1
    Accrued compensation and benefits 127.0 151.4
    Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 197.3 175.3
    Deferred revenue 67.2 57.8
    Current portion of obligations under capital leases 55.5 49.6
    Total current liabilities 548.0 510.2
    Long-term portion of obligations under capital leases 56.2 56.3
    Long-term deferred income taxes 4.4 5.8
    Other long-term liabilities 97.6 73.8
    Total liabilities 706.2 646.1
    Redeemable noncontrolling interest 9.7 13.4
    Equity:
    Common stock, $0.01 par value, 114.1 million shares issued and 79.2 million shares
    outstanding as of December 31, 2013 and 110.1 million shares issued and 76.6
    million shares outstanding as of December 31, 2012
    1.1 1.1
    Additional paid-in capital 3,592.7 3,457.5
    Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net (290.4 ) (294.1 )
    Accumulated deficit (93.6 ) (188.0 )
    Treasury stock, at cost, 34.9 million shares as of December 31, 2013 and
    33.5 million shares as of December 31, 2012
    (942.9 ) (838.4 )
    Total stockholders’ equity 2,266.9 2,138.1
    Noncontrolling interest 0.6 (0.3 )
    Total equity 2,267.5 2,137.8
    Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interest and equity $ 2,983.4 $ 2,797.3
    AOL Inc.
    Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
    (In millions)
    Years Ended December 31,
    2013 2012
    (unaudited)
    Operating Activities
    Net income $ 90.6 $ 1,047.7
    Adjustments for non-cash and non-operating items:
    Depreciation and amortization 174.0 176.9
    Asset impairments and write-offs 30.6 6.1
    (Gain) loss on step acquisitions and disposal of assets, net (1.5 ) (975.5 )
    Equity-based compensation 47.0 39.5
    Deferred income taxes 51.5 124.1
    Other non-cash adjustments 4.4 (2.6 )
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions
    Receivables (104.5 ) (33.4 )
    Accrued expenses 21.7 4.6
    Deferred revenue 7.9 (12.7 )
    Other balance sheet changes (2.8 ) (9.1 )
    Cash provided by operating activities 318.9 365.6
    Investing Activities
    Investments and acquisitions, net of cash acquired (337.9 ) (32.0 )
    Proceeds from disposal of assets, net 1.5 952.3
    Capital expenditures and product development costs (65.7 ) (64.9 )
    Cash (used) provided by investing activities (402.1 ) 855.4
    Financing Activities
    Repurchase of common stock (134.8 ) (698.7 )
    Principal payments on capital leases (61.1 ) (55.6 )
    Tax withholdings related to net share settlements of restricted stock units (16.5 ) (7.6 )
    Proceeds from exercise of stock options 35.3 35.2
    Cash dividends paid (434.4 )
    Cash dividend equivalent payments on restricted stock units (4.4 )
    Other financing activities 6.1 0.3
    Cash used by financing activities (175.4 ) (1,160.8 )
    Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and equivalents (0.7 ) (1.1 )
    (Decrease) increase in cash and equivalents (259.3 ) 59.1
    Cash and equivalents at beginning of period 466.6 407.5
    Cash and equivalents at end of period $ 207.3 $ 466.6

    SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION – UNAUDITED

    Items impacting comparability: The following table represents certain items that impacted the comparability of net income attributable to AOL Inc. for the three months and years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012 (In millions, except per share amounts):

    Three Months Ended
    December 31,
    Year Ended
    December 31,
    2013 2012 2013 2012
    Restructuring costs $ (13.2 ) $ (2.4 ) $ (41.3 ) $ (10.1 )
    Equity-based compensation expense (15.6 ) (11.2 ) (47.0 ) (39.5 )
    Asset impairments and write-offs (0.2 ) (3.1 ) (30.6 ) (6.1 )
    Gain (loss) on disposal of assets, net (1) 0.4 17.6 2.5 964.2
    Costs related to proxy contest (0.1 ) (8.9 )
    Costs related to patent sale and return of proceeds to shareholders (7.1 ) (15.7 )
    Income from licensing of intellectual property 96.0
    Tax, legal and other settlements (1.0 ) (8.6 )
    Acquisition-related costs (2) (5.1 ) (5.1 )
    Gain on consolidation of Ad.com Japan (3) 10.8
    Pre-tax impact (28.6 ) (12.4 ) (116.4 ) 977.0
    Income tax impact (4) 11.3 2.1 38.1 (48.2 )
    After-tax impact of items impacting comparability of net income $ (17.3 ) $ (10.3 ) $ (78.3 ) $ 928.8
    Impact per basic common share $ (0.22 ) $ (0.12 ) $ (1.01 ) $ 10.20
    Impact per diluted common share $ (0.21 ) $ (0.12 ) $ (0.95 ) $ 9.93
    Effective tax rate (5) 39.4 % 39.2 % 39.4 % 39.2 %
    (1) Gain on disposal of assets for the three months ended December 31, 2012 relates primarily to the release of a VAT indemnification liability reserve associated with the sales of our German and UK access businesses in 2006 and 2007. The statute of limitations on this indemnification expired on December 31, 2012. For the year ended December 31, 2012, gain on disposal of assets also includes the gain on the sale of the patents of $946.1 million in the second quarter of 2012.
    (2) Acquisition-related costs for the three months and year ended December 31, 2012 includes approximately $4.7 million related to a bonus paid to employees of an acquired company and accounted for as compensation expense.
    (3) During the three months ended March 31, 2012, AOL purchased an additional interest in a joint venture, Ad.com Japan, and gained control of the board and day-to-day operations of the joint venture. As a result, beginning in February 2012, AOL consolidated the results of Ad.com Japan and upon closing of the transaction, AOL recorded a noncash gain of approximately $10.8 million related to our pre-existing investment in Ad.com Japan.
    (4) Income tax impact is calculated by applying the normalized effective tax rate to deductible items. The income tax impacts for certain items such as gain (loss) on disposal of assets and gain on consolidation of Ad.com Japan are calculated by using the actual tax expense for the transactions. The goodwill impairment charge of $17.5 million recorded in the third quarter of 2013 is not deductible for income tax purposes.
    (5) For the three months and year ended December 31, 2013, the effective tax rate was calculated based on AOL’s 2013 normalized annual effective tax rate. The effective tax rate for the three months and year ended December 31, 2012 was calculated based upon AOL’s 2012 normalized annual effective tax rate.
    AOL Inc.
    Reconciliation of Adjusted OIBDA to Operating Income and Free Cash Flow to Cash Provided by Operating Activities
    (In millions)
    Three Months Ended December 31, Years Ended December 31,
    2013 2012 2013 2012
    Operating income $ 71.8 $ 68.2 $ 190.3 $ 1,201.9
    Add: Depreciation 31.5 33.1 128.9 138.7
    Add: Amortization of intangible assets 15.4 9.6 45.1 38.2
    Add: Restructuring costs 13.2 2.4 41.3 10.1
    Add: Equity-based compensation 15.6 11.2 47.0 39.5
    Add: Asset impairments and write-offs 0.2 3.1 30.6 6.1
    Add: Losses/(gains) on disposal of assets, net (0.4 ) (17.6 ) (2.5 ) (964.2 )
    Add: Special items (1) 13.3 (57.7 )
    Adjusted OIBDA $ 147.3 $ 123.3 $ 480.7 $ 412.6
    Cash provided by operating activities $ 90.0 $ 76.7 $ 318.9 $ 365.6
    Less: Capital expenditures and product development costs 13.0 15.9 65.7 64.9
    Less: Principal payments on capital leases 16.6 14.5 61.1 55.6
    Free Cash Flow $ 60.4 $ 46.3 $ 192.1 $ 245.1
    (1) Special items for the three months ended December 31, 2012 include costs related to the patent sale of $7.1 million (including a year-end employee bonus as a result of the patent transaction) and acquisition-related costs of $5.1 million. Special items for the year ended December 31, 2012 also include patent licensing income of $96.0 million and additional costs related to the patent sale of $8.6 million, as well as proxy contest costs of $8.9 million and the Virginia tax settlement of $7.6 million.

    Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    This press release and its attachments include the financial measures Adjusted OIBDA and Free Cash Flow, both of which are defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These measures may be different than similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Explanations of our non-GAAP financial measures are as follows:

    Adjusted OIBDA. We define Adjusted OIBDA as operating income before depreciation and amortization excluding the impact of restructuring costs, non-cash equity-based compensation, gains and losses on all disposals of assets, noncash asset impairments and write-offs and special items. We consider Adjusted OIBDA to be a useful metric for management and investors to evaluate and compare the ongoing operating performance of our business on a consistent basis across reporting periods, as it eliminates the effect of noncash items such as depreciation of tangible assets, amortization of intangible assets that were primarily recognized in business combinations, asset impairments and write-offs, as well as the effect of restructurings, gains and losses on asset sales and special items, which we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance. We exclude the impacts of equity-based compensation to allow us to be more closely aligned with the industry and analyst community. A limitation of this measure, however, is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues in our business or the current or future expected cash expenditures for restructuring costs. The Adjusted OIBDA measure also does not include equity-based compensation, which is and will remain a key element of our overall long-term compensation package. Moreover, the Adjusted OIBDA measures do not reflect gains and losses on asset sales, impairment charges and write-offs related to goodwill, intangible assets and fixed assets or special items which impact our operating performance. We evaluate the investments in such tangible and intangible assets through other financial measures, such as capital expenditure budgets, investment spending levels and return on capital.

    Free Cash Flow. We define Free Cash Flow as cash provided by operating activities, less capital expenditures, product development costs and principal payments on capital leases. We consider Free Cash Flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business that, after capital expenditures, capitalized product development costs and principal payments on capital leases, can be used for strategic opportunities, including investing in our business, making strategic acquisitions, and strengthening the balance sheet. Analysis of Free Cash Flow also facilitates management’s comparisons of our operating results to competitors’ operating results. A limitation on the use of this metric is that Free Cash Flow does not represent the total increase or decrease in cash for the period because it excludes certain non-operating cash flows.

    Unique Visitor Metrics

    We utilize unique visitor numbers to evaluate the performance of AOL Properties. In addition, we utilize unique visitor numbers to evaluate the reach of the AOL Advertising Network, which includes both AOL Properties and the Third Party Network. Unique visitor numbers provide an indication of our consumer reach. Although our consumer reach does not correlate directly to advertising revenue, we believe that our ability to broadly reach diverse demographic and geographic audiences is attractive to brand advertisers seeking to promote their brands to a variety of consumers without having to partner with multiple content providers. The source for our unique visitor information is a third party (comScore Media Metrix, or “Media Metrix”).

    Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release and our conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time today may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding business strategies, market potential, future financial and operational performance and other matters. Words such as “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “plans,” “will,” “believes” and words and terms of similar substance used in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs about future events. As with any projection or forecast, they are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Except as required by law, we are under no obligation to, and expressly disclaim any obligation to, update or alter any forward-looking statements whether as a result of such changes, new information, subsequent events or otherwise. Various factors could adversely affect our operations, business or financial results in the future and cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed in detail in the “Risk Factors” sections contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 (the “Annual Report”) and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2013 (the “Quarterly Report”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, we operate a web services company in a highly competitive, rapidly changing and consumer- and technology-driven industry. This industry is affected by government regulation, economic, strategic, political and social conditions, consumer response to new and existing products and services, technological developments and, particularly in view of new technologies, the continued ability to protect intellectual property rights. Our actual results could differ materially from management’s expectations because of changes in such factors. Achieving our business and financial objectives, including improved financial results and maintenance of a strong balance sheet and liquidity position, could be adversely affected by the factors discussed or referenced under the “Risk Factors” sections contained in the Annual Report and Quarterly Report as well as, among other things: 1) changes in our plans, strategies and intentions; 2) stock price volatility; 3) future borrowing and restrictive covenants under the new revolving credit facility; 4) the impact of significant acquisitions, dispositions and other similar transactions; 5) our ability to attract and retain key employees; 6) any negative unintended consequences of cost reductions, restructuring actions or similar efforts, including with respect to any associated savings, charges or other amounts; 7) adoption of new products and services; 8) our ability to attract and retain unique visitors to our properties; 9) asset impairments; and 10) the impact of “cyber-attacks.”

     

    Image via Wikimeda Commons

  • Twitter Bought 900 Patents From IBM After Infringement Claims

    Twitter Bought 900 Patents From IBM After Infringement Claims

    Twitter has acquired over 900 patents from IBM. The deal, which includes a cross-license agreement, was made last month, but the two companies have now formally announced it.

    IBM has received more patents in the U.S. than any other company for 21 consecutive years.

    Twitter Legal Director Ben Lee said, “This acquisition of patents from IBM and licensing agreement provides us with greater intellectual property protection and gives us freedom of action to innovate on behalf of all those who use our service.”

    Ken King, General Manager of Intellectual Property for IBM, said, “We are pleased to reach this agreement with Twitter because it illustrates the value of patented IBM inventions and demonstrates our commitment to licensing access to our broad patent portfolio. We look forward to a productive relationship with Twitter in the future.”

    A couple months ago, in an update to its S-1, Twitter revealed that IBM had issued a letter to the company alleging that it was infringing upon at least three of its patents, but “inviting” Twitter to negotiate a “business resolution”.

    Those particular patents were for “Efficient retrieval of uniform resource locators,” “Method for presenting advertising in an interactive service,” and “programmatic discovery of common contacts.”

    The companies did not reveal the terms of the deal.

    The news recalls when Facebook bought 750 IBM patents a couple years ago.

    Image via Twitter

  • Federated Media Sells Brand, Content Marketing Business, Forms ‘Sovrn’ With Battelle And Knapp

    Federated Media Sells Brand, Content Marketing Business, Forms ‘Sovrn’ With Battelle And Knapp

    Federated Media announced that it has sold its brand and content marketing business to LIN Digital Media. Federated’s programmatic media and publisher platform business, which was built through its Lijit Networks acquisition back in 2011, will serve as an independent entity under the name sovrn Holdings, Inc.

    Federated Media Founder, Executive Chairman and CEO John Battelle will go to sovrn, which will be headquartered in Colorado, to remain Executive Chairman. He only resumed his CEO role at Federated last year.

    Battelle writes on his blog:

    When I returned as FM’s CEO in early 2013 after a two-year absence, it was my job to assess where we stood, and how we could most successfully invest our resources. At the time, FM had two distinct business lines: Its pioneering content marketing practice, and its burgeoning programmatic exchange. As readers of this site know well, I’m bullish on both. I love our legacy as one of the creators of modern content marketing and defender of premium independent publishing, and I’m extremely proud of our massive exchange, which is growing like crazy (more than 90% topline growth y/y, and profitable). Both businesses have strong partners, strong people, and great futures.

    So why split them up? Well, the truth is LIN Media offered us a deal that just made sense. LIN, a public company, is focused on building a world-class digital media offering, and has the resources and people that can take Federated’s business to the next level. It’s incredibly important to me personally that something I was instrumental in building finds a home that respects and appreciates its history, while at the same time desiring to invest in its future. That’s exactly what LIN is committed to doing. Now that it is part of LIN, the Federated Media brand can grow faster – and that means more revenue and opportunities for the partners who have made FM what it is.

    Walter Knapp (pictured), former COO of Federated Media and Lijit, has been appointed as the new CEO of sovrn.

    “As the new CEO of sovrn, it’s my mission to make sure that we are insanely focused on providing the tools, resources and services that enable independent and influential publishers to succeed,” he said. “The proceeds from this sale will allow us to lean heavily into our platform-based programmatic ad services and to roll-out an expanded set of offerings to engage audiences and drive monetization.”

    No word on the sale price.

    Image via BusinessWire

  • Twitter’s MoPub Launches Native Ads For Mobile Apps

    Twitter’s MoPub Launches Native Ads For Mobile Apps

    Twitter’s MoPub has launched a new native advertising offering, calling it the “first programmatic-enabled native ads platform for mobile apps.”

    Messaging service Tango is one of the launch partners. Here’s a look:

    Native Ads

    “Native ads are one of the most talked about topics in advertising, but there has yet to be a scalable and accessible solution for mobile app developers,” says Jim Payne on the MoPub blog. “Native ads offer an opportunity to monetize your app more effectively by matching the original content’s look and feel, maintaining the same great experience for your users. Before today, publishers told us that building one-off, custom ad experiences was too resource intensive and difficult to execute to be practical.”

    “MoPub’s native ads product gives you the ability to work with direct advertisers, promote your own features and apps, and drive more revenue from one of the over ninety-five demand partners on MoPub Marketplace,” he says. “This single solution means you can provide a customized ad experience for your partners without building custom campaigns for each advertiser.”

    Twitter acquired MoPub in September, saying it would use the mobile ad exchange in its own Twitter Ads platform.

    This week, Twitter launched broad match for its own keyword targeting.

    Image: MoPub

  • Twitter Launches Custom Timelines

    Twitter Launches Custom Timelines

    Twitter has launched a new feature called Custom Timelines. This simply enables you to create and share a timeline based on specific tweets of your choosing. These can include your own tweets as well as tweets from others.

    The feature is similar to Twitter’s Lists feature, except that instead of including every tweet from each person you add, it just includes individual tweets that you add.

    Custom Timelines

    You can also embed your custom timelines just like any other embeddable widget:

    “Custom timelines are an entirely new type of timeline –– one that you create,” writes Twitter’s Brian Ellin in a blog post. “You name it, and choose the Tweets you want to add to it, either by hand or programmatically using the API (more on that below). This means that when the conversation around an event or topic takes off on Twitter, you have the opportunity to create a timeline that surfaces what you believe to be the most noteworthy, relevant Tweets.”

    “Share the best Tweets about a topic you care about, or an event –– planned or unplanned –– that’s happening right now,” he says. “Whether you want to collect the best Tweets about a TV show or help people find the latest information about fast-moving real-time situations, custom timelines let you give everyone a place to follow along.”

    He shares a few examples of how people are using them. Carson Daly is using a custom timeline as “a live companion” to tonight’s competition on The Voice. Politico is using them for a political “tweet hub“.

    You can add tweets by hand, or you can do so via the new custom timelines API (beta).

    Interestingly, Twitter has chosen to make the manual addition of tweets to a custom timeline a TweetDeck feature, though the timelines live on Twitter itself as public pages. You can use your TweetDeck panes to drag tweets over to your new custom timeline, and do what you want with it from there.

  • Google Partners With Facebook On Advertising

    Google Partners With Facebook On Advertising

    Google announced today that it has partnered with Facebook to add DoubleClick Bid Manager to Facebook’s FBX real-time bidding exchange.

    This comes a little over a year after FBX left beta.

    “Partnership has been key to Google’s success as a rising tide lifts all boats,” says Google’s Payam Shodjai.

    “DoubleClick Bid Manager (formerly Invite Media) has been helping agencies and advertisers buy ad space on sites across the web for years,” Shodjai adds. “We help clients access dozens of private and public exchanges in more than 75 countries, and continue to see double-digit quarter-over-quarter growth in spend – last quarter was our biggest ever. We’re continuing to invest significantly in our technology (you can read some of what we’ve been up to here) to help advertisers and agencies buy programmatically across all devices and formats.”

    It’s unclear exactly when Double Bid Manager will be available in in FBX, but Google says it is coming in a few months. At that point, clients will be able to buy inventory with the product on FBX.

    Earlier this week, Facebook announced the ability for its advertisers to target people who have visited their websites or mobile apps, but said that advertisers with a lot of products that advertise to multiple audiences are better off using FBX.

  • Twitter Buys MoPub, Will Use It In Twitter Ads Platform

    Twitter Buys MoPub, Will Use It In Twitter Ads Platform

    Twitter announced that it has agreed to acquire mobile ad exchange MoPub.

    With MoPub, app publishers can manage their inventory and multiple sources of advertising (direct ads, house ads, ad network and real-time bidding).

    “The two major trends in the ad world right now are the rapid consumer shift toward mobile usage, and the industry shift to programmatic buying,” said Twitter VP, Revenue Product, Kevin Well. “Twitter sits at the intersection of these, and we think by bringing MoPub’s technology and team to Twitter, we can further drive these trends for the benefit of consumers, advertisers, and agencies.”

    “The MoPub team has built a leading mobile ad exchange, and their focus on providing transparency to advertisers and publishers aligns with our values,” added Well. “We’ll continue to invest in and improve their core business. In particular, we think there is a key opportunity to extend many types of native advertising across the mobile ecosystem through the MoPub exchange.”

    Twitter says it plans to use MoPub’s technology to build real-time bidding into the Twitter ads platform.

    MoPub CEO Jim Payne wrote in a blog post, “It’s important to underscore that our commitment to you, the publisher, will not change. In fact, it will be strengthened. Twitter will invest in our core business and we will continue to build the tools and technology you need to better run your mobile advertising business.”

    “In addition to investing in new capabilities for our publisher platform, we believe there are opportunities to bring better native advertising to the mobile ecosystem,” he said. “With the support of the team and resources of Twitter, we’ll be able to move even more quickly towards the realization of our original vision.”

    MoPub has about a hundred employees around the world, and the company says it serves billions of mobile ads per month.

    Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but TechCrunch says it hears the deal was around $350 million in stock.

    This follows other recent acquisitions by Twitter: Trendrr and Marakana.

    Image: MoPub

  • AOL’s Adap.tv Acquisition Is Now Complete

    AOL’s Adap.tv Acquisition Is Now Complete

    About a month ago, AOL announced the company’s biggest acquisition under CEO Tim Armstrong with news that it would buy video ad platform Adap.tv for $405 million. The company announced the completion of that acquisition today.

    “With the addition of Adap.tv, AOL’s leadership position in digital video is further solidified,” said Armstrong. “AOL is well positioned to capitalize on two clear trends in the video space – the movement of advertising dollars from linear to online video and the shift from manual transactions to programmatic media buying. We welcome Adap.tv and its extremely talented employees to the AOL team.”

    AOL said in a statement, “Adap.tv is the only complete global programmatic video technology stack across all screens currently in the marketplace and will operate independently as part of AOL’s video organization. It will be included as part of the overall solution offered by AOL Networks to leading publishers, advertisers and agencies seeking to maximize the value of their online investments.”

    “At Adap.tv, we are focused on building the most important business within the most important category in digital advertising,” said Adap.tv CEO Amir Ashkenazi when the deal was first announced. “We believe that most TV advertising will soon be traded programmatically on platforms like ours. The combination of AOL and Adap.tv accelerates our vision of efficient and effective TV and video advertising.”

    AOL’s video organization is led by Ran Harnevo. AOL Networks also includes Advertising.com, the AOL On Network, Be On, ADTECH and Pictela.

    Adap.tv will also be part of AOL’s Programmatic Upfront on September 23rd. The company calls this an “inaugural event for the industry.”

    Image: Ashkenazi and Armstrong (BusinessWire)

  • Yahoo Gets Former AOL Networks Chief Ned Brody As SVP Of The Americas

    Yahoo Gets Former AOL Networks Chief Ned Brody As SVP Of The Americas

    Yahoo announced today that Ned Brody, the former CEO of AOL Networks, has joined the company to take on the role of SVP of the Americas. He will oversee the company’s advertising business in North and South America.

    COO Henrique De Castro had this to say on the Yahoo blog:

    We’ve had great momentum at Yahoo as we continue to bring the best talent in the industry to our operational team, including the recent additions of Dawn Airey as SVP of EMEA, Andre Christensen as SVP of Strategy and Business Operations, and John DeVine SVP of Global Ad Operations.

    I have known Ned for some time and he is one of the industry’s strongest thought leaders, client partners, business drivers and people managers. He is known for his analytical insight, solutions-oriented approach to selling, problem solving, and above all, for being a team player. I’m personally excited to work with Ned as we continue to position Yahoo for growth around the world.

    Brody said, “Over the last year I’ve watched what an incredibly talented and passionate team can do with product at Yahoo. I’m excited about the opportunity to drive that kind of change in the advertising business, as well. With the largest set of premium inventory as a starting point, we’ve got a great opportunity to deliver the most effective scaled advertising solutions in the industry. I look forward to working with and learning from our partners as we enact this vision.”

    Brody ran AOL Networks most recently in his 25-year advertising career. This included the company’s global video, mobile and programmatic ad businesses. He has also served as the global chief revenue officer at that company.

    Image: Ned Brody (Twitter)

  • AOL Q2 Earnings Out, Global Ad Revenue Boosts Overall Revenue

    AOL Q2 Earnings Out, Global Ad Revenue Boosts Overall Revenue

    AOL reported its Q2 earnings on Wednesday, in addition to the news that it is acquiring Adap.tv in CEO Tim Armstrong’s biggest deal yet.

    The company managed to beat Wall Street estimates. Revenue for the quarter grew 2% year-over-year thanks to global ad revenue growth (7% growth year-over-year). The company also saw 8% growth in global search revenue driven by more revenue per search on AOL.com.

    Subscription revenue decreased by 5% for the company.

    Armstrong had this to say: “AOL takes a major step forward today with another quarter of growth and our agreement to acquire the Adap.tv video marketplace platform that will make AOL a clear global leader in the most important growth segment in our industry – online video. AOL continued to get leaner during Q2 while growing consumer traffic, growing all advertising revenue lines, and improving our subscription trends.”

    Here’s the release in its entirety:

    NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) released second quarter 2013 results today.

    “AOL takes a major step forward today with another quarter of growth and our agreement to acquire the Adap.tv video marketplace platform that will make AOL a clear global leader in the most important growth segment in our industry – online video,” said Tim Armstrong, AOL Chairman and CEO. “AOL continued to get leaner during Q2 while growing consumer traffic, growing all advertising revenue lines, and improving our subscription trends.”

    Summary Results
    In millions (except per share amounts)
    Q2 2013 Q2 2012 Change
    Revenue
    Advertising $ 361.2 $ 337.8 7 %
    Global Display 146.2 139.9 5 %
    Global Search 93.7 86.5 8 %
    AOL Properties 239.9 226.4 6 %
    Third Party Network 121.3 111.4 9 %
    Subscription 166.0 175.5 -5 %
    Other 14.1 17.8 -21 %
    Total revenues $ 541.3 $ 531.1 2 %
    Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (Adjusted OIBDA)(1) $ 108.3 $ 94.6 14 %
    Operating income (2) $ 51.9 $ 1,059.2 -95 %
    Net income attributable to AOL Inc. (2) $ 28.5 $ 970.8 -97 %
    Diluted EPS $ 0.35 $ 10.17 -97 %
    Cash provided by operating activities $ 89.4 $ 167.2 -47 %
    Free Cash Flow (1) (2) $ 57.3 $ 136.8 -58 %
    (1) See Page 9 for a reconciliation of Adjusted OIBDA and Free Cash Flow to the GAAP financial measures we consider most comparable.
    (2) Year-over-year comparisons were impacted by the Q2 2012 patent transaction with Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”); which resulted in a Q2 2012 benefit of $1,042 million to operating income, $970 million to net income attributable to AOL Inc. and $96 million to free cash flow.

    Adap.tv Brings to AOL:

    • The only complete global programmatic video stack for publishers and advertisers across all screens;
    • A unified yield management platform for advertisers and publishers for planning, targeting, ad-serving and measurement;
    • One of the fastest growing platforms on the internet, with global revenue growth in excess of 100% per year in each of the last three years;
    • Wide adoption by the largest global advertisers and publishers, including 83 out of the Ad Age 100 and 70 of the comScore 100;
    • A talented team which has driven innovation in the automation of global video advertising.

    Q2 Consolidated AOL Revenue Trends:

    • Q2 total revenue grew 2% year-over-year driven by global advertising revenue growth.
    • Global advertising revenue grew 7% year-over-year reflecting:
      • 5% growth in global display revenue reflects 3% and 19% growth in domestic and international display revenue, respectively, driven by increased reserved impressions sold on AOL Properties.
      • 9% growth in Third Party Network revenue driven by growth in premium formats sold across the network where the number of publishers and advertisers continues to grow.
      • 8% growth in global search revenue driven primarily by an increase in revenue per search on AOL.com.
    • Subscription revenue declined 5% year-over-year and domestic AOL-brand access subscriber monthly average churn was 1.4% in Q2 2013 compared to a 13% decline year-over-year in subscription revenue and 1.7% monthly average churn in Q2 2012.

    Q2 Consolidated AOL Profitability Trends:

    • AOL’s Q2 2012 operating income, net income and diluted EPS were favorably impacted by $1.04 billion, $970 million and $10.16, respectively resulting from its patent transaction with Microsoft. Excluding this impact, operating income, net income and diluted EPS grew significantly.
    • Adjusted OIBDA grew 14% year-over-year, driven by total revenue growth of 2% and declines in general and administrative expenses, partially offset by increased costs of revenue.
    • Cost of revenues increased $3.7 million year-over-year driven by a 17% increase in Traffic Acquisition Costs (TAC) resulting from growth in search marketing related expenses and 9% growth in Third Party Network revenue, largely offset by lower network related expenses and a decline in sales tax expense of $7.6 million related to a Virginia sales tax settlement in Q2 2012.
    • General and administrative expenses declined $31.2 million in Q2 2013 versus Q2 2012, due to a decline in legal and consulting fees, including the absence of patent and proxy related expenses and the reimbursement in Q2 2013 of legal expenses from prior periods related to an escrow settlement.

    AOL Asset, Cash & Cash Flow Trends:

    • On July 1, 2013, AOL entered into a five-year $250 million senior secured revolving credit facility agreement with a syndicated bank lending group. The credit facility remains undrawn.
    • In Q2 2013, AOL repurchased 1.4 million shares of common stock at an average price of $35.63, or approximately $50 million in aggregate, leaving approximately $50 million on our previous authorization. On July 1, 2013, AOL’s Board of Directors authorized a $150 million share repurchase, bringing AOL’s remaining repurchase authorization to $200 million.
    • AOL had $483.4 million of cash and equivalents at June 30, 2013. Q2 cash provided by operating activities and Free Cash Flow were $89.4 million and $57.3 million, respectively, down year-over-year due to the $96 million benefit in Q2 2012 related to the licensing of patents to Microsoft. The Q2 2013 Free Cash Flow comparison to the prior year was also negatively impacted by the early receipt in Q1 2013 of a prepayment from a large partner that was received last year during Q2.
    DISCUSSION OF SEGMENT RESULTS
    Q2’13 Q2’12 Change
    (In millions)
    Revenue
    Brand Group 190.3 173.5 10 %
    Membership Group 213.8 227.8 -6 %
    AOL Networks 160.4 153.4 5 %
    Corporate & Other 0.3 0.3 0 %
    Intersegment eliminations (23.5 ) (23.9 ) 2 %
    Total Revenue $ 541.3 $ 531.1 2 %
    Adjusted OIBDA
    Brand Group (1.4 ) (15.2 ) 91 %
    Membership Group 151.6 158.3 -4 %
    AOL Networks (11.3 ) (0.3 ) NM
    Corporate & Other (30.6 ) (48.2 ) 37 %
    Total Adjusted OIBDA $ 108.3 $ 94.6 14 %

    Brand Group

    Brand Group revenue growth reflects continued growth in global display and search revenue. Brand Group display revenue grew 9% globally driven by an increase in Brand Group inventory sold on a reserved basis. Brand Group search revenue grew 12% year-over-year driven primarily by revenue per search growth on AOL.com.

    Brand Group Adjusted OIBDA improved significantly versus the prior year period, primarily due to the growth in search and display revenue discussed above, partially offset by increased TAC as a result of our search marketing-related initiatives, which drove additional queries during the quarter. Brand Group Adjusted OIBDA reflects our investment for future growth in our editorial and engineering staff in areas of strategic focus.

    Membership Group

    Membership Group revenue declines reflect a 5% decline in subscription revenue driven by 15% fewer domestic AOL-brand access subscribers year-over-year. The continued moderation of subscription revenue declines was driven by a historically low churn rate of 1.4% and 12% year-over-year growth in domestic average access subscription monthly revenue per AOL-brand access subscriber (ARPU). ARPU growth reflects continued improvement in our retention efforts and the impact of a price rationalization program.

    Membership Group Adjusted OIBDA declines primarily reflect the decline in subscription revenue discussed above, partially offset by a decline in segment operating costs.

    AOL Networks

    AOL Networks revenue increased 5% year-over-year, driven by growth in Third Party Network revenue on the increased sale of premium formats across the network where the number of publishers and advertisers continues to grow. AOL Network’s year-over-year revenue comparison was negatively impacted by the absence of revenue from the divestiture of StudioNow in Q1 2013. StudioNow contributed $3.2 million in revenue to AOL Networks in Q2 2012. To a lesser extent, AOL Networks revenue growth was impacted by a decline in revenue from the sale of Brand Group and Membership Group inventory through AOL Networks, as more of that inventory was sold on a reserved basis than in Q2 2012.

    AOL Networks Adjusted OIBDA decreased year-over-year due to higher research and product development costs primarily related to continued investment in premium formats as well as Ad Learn Open Platform (our demand-side platform) and AdTech MARKETPLACE (our supply-side platform). AOL Networks-related TAC increased by 7%, slower than the rate of growth of Third Party Network revenue.

    Corporate & Other

    Corporate & Other Adjusted OIBDA improved significantly year-over-year primarily driven by declines in marketing and outside services costs as a result of our cost reduction efforts as well the reimbursement in Q2 2013 of legal expenses from prior periods related to an escrow settlement.

    Tax

    AOL had Q2 2013 pre-tax income of $51.2 million and income tax expense of $23.2 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 45.3%. This compares to an effective tax rate of 8.3% for Q2 2012. The effective tax rate for Q2 2013 differed from the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate of 35.0% primarily due to the impact of foreign losses that did not produce a tax benefit. The effective tax rate for Q2 2012 differed from the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate due to the tax impact of the patent transaction with Microsoft in Q2 2012.

    Cash Flow

    Q2 2013 cash provided by operating activities was $89.4 million, while Free Cash Flow was $57.3 million, both down year-over-year due to the $96 million benefit to operating income in Q2 2012 related to the licensing of patents to Microsoft. Q2 2013 Free Cash Flow comparison to the prior year was also negatively impacted by the early receipt in Q1 2013 of a prepayment from a large partner. In the prior year, the prepayment from this partner was received in Q2.

    Subsequent Event

    On August 5, 2013, AOL entered an agreement to acquire Adap.tv for shares of AOL common stock with an aggregate value of approximately $83 million and estimated cash consideration of approximately $322 million, subject to adjustment for working capital and reduction for indebtedness and transaction expenses of Adap.tv that remain unpaid as of closing.

    Adap.tv is a leading and global unified programmatic video platform powering video advertising for brand advertisers, agencies, publishers and ad networks. Adap.tv’s platform allows buyers and sellers to make decisions together on a unified technology platform, leveraging comprehensive data intelligence, across all screens. The combination of AOL and Adap.tv is expected to create the only global company with a full end-to-end solution and video stack for publishers and advertisers.

    This acquisition is subject to customary conditions, including expiration of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013.

    CONSOLIDATED OPERATING METRICS
    Q2 2013 Q2 2012 Y/Y Change Q1 2013 Q/Q Change
    Subscriber Information
    Domestic AOL-brand access subscribers (in thousands) (1) 2,583 3,031 -15 % 2,662 -3 %
    ARPU (1) $ 20.03 $ 17.92 12 % $ 19.22 4 %
    Domestic AOL-brand access subscriber monthly average churn (2) 1.4 % 1.7 % -18 % 1.9 % -26 %
    Unique Visitors (in millions) (3)
    Domestic average monthly unique visitors to AOL Properties 116 112 3 % 112 3 %
    Domestic average monthly unique visitors to AOL Advertising Network 188 186 1 % 186 1 %
    (1) Domestic AOL-brand access subscribers include subscribers participating in introductory free-trial periods and subscribers that are paying no monthly fees or reduced monthly fees through member service and retention programs. Individuals who are only registered for our free offerings, including subscribers who have migrated from paid subscription plans, are not included in the AOL-brand access subscriber numbers presented above. ARPU is calculated as domestic average monthly access subscription revenue per AOL-brand access subscriber.
    (2) Churn represents the percentage of subscribers that are either terminated or cancel our services, factoring in new and reactivated subscribers. Monthly average churn is calculated as the monthly average number of terminations plus cancellations divided by the initial subscriber base plus any new registrations and reactivations for the applicable period.
    (3) See “Unique Visitor Metrics” on page 10 of this press release.

    Webcast and Conference Call Information

    AOL Inc. will host a conference call to discuss second quarter 2013 financial results and its agreement to acquire Adap.tv on Wednesday, August 7, 2013, at 8:00 am ET. To access the call, parties in the United States and Canada should call toll-free (866) 515.2915 and other international parties should call (617) 399.5129. Additionally, a live webcast of the conference call, together with supplemental financial information, can be accessed through the Company’s Investor Relations website at http://ir.aol.com. In addition, an archive of the webcast can be accessed through the link above for one year following the conference call, and an audio replay of the call will be available for two weeks following the conference call by calling (888) 286.8010 and other international parties should call (617) 801.6888. The access code for the replay is 87821945.

    FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

    AOL Inc.
    Consolidated Statements of Operations
    (Unaudited; in millions, except per share amounts)
    Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
    2013 2012 2013 2012
    Revenues:
    Advertising $ 361.2 $ 337.8 $ 720.4 $ 667.9
    Subscription 166.0 175.5 331.8 357.6
    Other 14.1 17.8 27.4 35.0
    Total revenues 541.3 531.1 1,079.6 1,060.5
    Costs of revenues 399.9 396.2 793.0 780.8
    General and administrative 76.6 107.8 159.4 204.0
    Amortization of intangible assets 9.1 9.8 18.6 19.6
    Restructuring costs 4.3 (0.1 ) 9.1 7.3
    Income from licensing of intellectual property (96.0 ) (96.0 )
    (Gain) loss on disposal of assets, net (0.5 ) (945.8 ) (2.3 ) (945.8 )
    Operating income 51.9 1,059.2 101.8 1,090.6
    Other income (loss), net (0.7 ) (1.1 ) (3.5 ) 7.3
    Income from operations before income taxes 51.2 1,058.1 98.3 1,097.9
    Income tax provision 23.2 87.5 44.7 106.3
    Net income $ 28.0 $ 970.6 $ 53.6 $ 991.6
    Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests 0.5 0.2 0.8 0.3
    Net income attributable to AOL Inc. $ 28.5 $ 970.8 $ 54.4 $ 991.9
    Per share information attributable to AOL Inc. common stockholders:
    Basic net income per common share $ 0.37 $ 10.37 $ 0.71 $ 10.55
    Diluted net income per common share $ 0.35 $ 10.17 $ 0.67 $ 10.42
    Shares used in computing basic income per common share 77.2 93.6 77.1 94.0
    Shares used in computing diluted income per common share 81.5 95.5 81.4 95.2
    Depreciation expense by function:
    Costs of revenues $ 29.8 $ 32.4 $ 60.3 $ 64.5
    General and administrative 2.5 2.8 5.1 6.8
    Total depreciation expense $ 32.3 $ 35.2 $ 65.4 $ 71.3
    Equity-based compensation by function:
    Costs of revenues $ 5.7 $ 4.6 $ 11.2 $ 8.6
    General and administrative 4.2 4.0 8.4 8.6
    Total equity-based compensation $ 9.9 $ 8.6 $ 19.6 $ 17.2
    Traffic Acquisition Costs (included in costs of revenues) $ 96.3 $ 82.4 $ 193.9 $ 163.2
    AOL Inc.
    Consolidated Balance Sheets
    (In millions, except per share amounts)
    June 30, December 31,
    2013 2012
    Assets (unaudited)
    Current assets:
    Cash and equivalents $ 483.4 $ 466.6
    Accounts receivable, net of allowances of $7.1 and $6.6, respectively 323.4 351.9
    Prepaid expenses and other current assets 32.6 28.5
    Deferred income taxes, net 38.6 40.6
    Total current assets 878.0 887.6
    Property and equipment, net 472.1 478.3
    Goodwill 1,079.9 1,084.1
    Intangible assets, net 113.0 133.2
    Long-term deferred income taxes, net 129.5 148.8
    Other long-term assets 75.4 65.3
    Total assets $ 2,747.9 $ 2,797.3
    Liabilities, Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest and Equity
    Current liabilities:
    Accounts payable $ 75.5 $ 76.1
    Accrued compensation and benefits 78.9 151.4
    Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 147.8 175.3
    Deferred revenue 67.7 57.8
    Current portion of obligations under capital leases 54.6 49.6
    Total current liabilities 424.5 510.2
    Long-term portion of obligations under capital leases 50.8 56.3
    Long-term deferred income taxes 4.6 5.8
    Other long-term liabilities 81.2 73.8
    Total liabilities 561.1 646.1
    Redeemable noncontrolling interest 10.3 13.4
    Equity:
    Common stock, $0.01 par value, 111.5 million shares issued and 76.6 millionshares outstanding as of June 30, 2013 and 110.1 million shares issued

    and 76.6 million shares outstanding as of December 31, 2012

    1.1 1.1
    Additional paid-in capital 3,525.4 3,457.5
    Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net (297.2 ) (294.1 )
    Accumulated deficit (131.3 ) (188.0 )
    Treasury stock, at cost, 34.9 million shares at June 30, 2013 and33.5 million shares at December 31, 2012 (922.2 ) (838.4 )
    Total stockholders’ equity 2,175.8 2,138.1
    Noncontrolling interest 0.7 (0.3 )
    Total equity 2,176.5 2,137.8
    Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interest and equity $ 2,747.9 $ 2,797.3
    AOL Inc.
    Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
    (Unaudited; in millions)
    Six Months Ended June 30,
    2013 2012
    Operating Activities
    Net income $ 53.6 $ 991.6
    Adjustments for non-cash and non-operating items:
    Depreciation and amortization 84.0 90.9
    Asset impairments and write-offs 1.4 2.8
    (Gain) loss on step acquisition and disposal of assets, net (1.6 ) (956.6 )
    Equity-based compensation 19.6 17.2
    Deferred income taxes 23.9 85.6
    Other non-cash adjustments 4.8 (3.2 )
    Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions (55.7 ) (41.2 )
    Cash provided by operating activities 130.0 187.1
    Investing Activities
    Investments and acquisitions, net of cash acquired (6.6 ) 1.1
    Proceeds from disposal of assets, net 1.0 960.5
    Capital expenditures and product development costs (33.0 ) (31.7 )
    Cash (used) provided by investing activities (38.6 ) 929.9
    Financing Activities
    Repurchase of common stock (49.9 ) (35.8 )
    Principal payments on capital leases (29.9 ) (28.1 )
    Tax withholdings related to net share settlements of restricted stock units (12.0 ) (6.1 )
    Proceeds from exercise of stock options 17.5 16.6
    Other financing activities 1.9 0.2
    Cash used by financing activities (72.4 ) (53.2 )
    Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and equivalents (2.2 ) (2.8 )
    Increase in cash and equivalents 16.8 1,061.0
    Cash and equivalents at beginning of period 466.6 407.5
    Cash and equivalents at end of period $ 483.4 $ 1,468.5
    SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION – UNAUDITED
    Items impacting comparability: The following table represents certain items that impacted the comparability of net income attributable to AOL Inc. for the three and six months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012 (In millions, except per share amounts):
    Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
    2013 2012 2013 2012
    Restructuring costs $ (4.3 ) $ 0.1 $ (9.1 ) $ (7.3 )
    Equity-based compensation expense (9.9 ) (8.6 ) (19.6 ) (17.2 )
    Asset impairments and write-offs (1.3 ) (1.9 ) (1.4 ) (2.8 )
    Gain (loss) on disposal of assets, net 0.5 946.0 2.3 946.4
    Costs related to proxy contest (8.8 ) (8.8 )
    Costs related to patent sale and return of proceeds to shareholders (5.6 ) (5.6 )
    Income from licensing of intellectual property 96.0 96.0
    Tax, legal and other settlements (7.6 ) (7.6 )
    Gain on consolidation of Ad.com Japan (1) 10.8
    Pre-tax impact (15.0 ) 1,009.6 (27.8 ) 1,003.9
    Income tax impact (2) 6.0 (61.0 ) 10.1 (54.6 )
    After-tax impact of items impacting comparability of net income $ (9.0 ) $ 948.6 $ (17.7 ) $ 949.3
    Impact per basic common share $ (0.12 ) $ 10.13 $ (0.23 ) $ 10.10
    Impact per diluted common share $ (0.11 ) $ 9.93 $ (0.22 ) $ 9.97
    Effective tax rate (3) 39.4 % 39.2 % 39.4 % 39.2 %
    (1) During the three months ended March 31, 2012, AOL purchased an additional interest in a joint venture, Ad.com Japan, and gained control of the board and day-to-day operations of the joint venture. As a result, beginning in February 2012, AOL consolidated the results of Ad.com Japan and upon closing of the transaction, AOL recorded a noncash gain of approximately $10.8 million related to our pre-existing investment in Ad.com Japan.
    (2) The income tax impacts for certain items such as gain (loss) on disposal of assets and gain on consolidation of Ad.com Japan are calculated by using the actual tax expense for the transactions. The income tax impact for all remaining items is calculated by applying the normalized effective tax rate to deductible items.
    (3) For the three and six months ended June 30, 2013, the effective tax rate was calculated based on AOL’s 2013 projected normalized annual effective tax rate. The effective tax rate for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012 was calculated based upon AOL’s 2012 normalized annual effective tax rate.
    AOL Inc.
    Reconciliation of Adjusted OIBDA to Operating Income and Free Cash Flow to Cash Provided by Operating Activities
    (In millions)
    Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
    2013 2012 2013 2012
    Operating income $ 51.9 $ 1,059.2 $ 101.8 $ 1,090.6
    Add: Depreciation 32.3 35.2 65.4 71.3
    Add: Amortization of intangible assets 9.1 9.8 18.6 19.6
    Add: Restructuring costs 4.3 (0.1 ) 9.1 7.3
    Add: Equity-based compensation 9.9 8.6 19.6 17.2
    Add: Asset impairments and write-offs 1.3 1.9 1.4 2.8
    Add: Losses/(gains) on disposal of assets, net (0.5 ) (946.0 ) (2.3 ) (946.4 )
    Add: Special items (1) (74.0 ) (74.0 )
    Adjusted OIBDA $ 108.3 $ 94.6 $ 213.6 $ 188.4
    Cash provided by operating activities $ 89.4 $ 167.2 $ 130.0 $ 187.1
    Less: Capital expenditures and product development costs 16.4 16.7 33.0 31.7
    Less: Principal payments on capital leases 15.7 13.7 29.9 28.1
    Free Cash Flow $ 57.3 $ 136.8 $ 67.1 $ 127.3
    (1) Special items for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012 include patent licensing income of $96.0 million, partially offset by costs related to the patent sale and return of the related proceeds to shareholders of $5.6 million, costs related to the proxy contest of $8.8 million and $7.6 million related to a tax settlement.

    Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    This press release and its attachments include the financial measures Adjusted OIBDA and Free Cash Flow, both of which are defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These measures may be different than similarly-titled non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Explanations of our non-GAAP financial measures are as follows:

    Adjusted OIBDA. We define Adjusted OIBDA as operating income before depreciation and amortization excluding the impact of restructuring costs, noncash equity-based compensation, gains and losses on all disposals of assets, noncash asset impairments and write-offs and special items. We consider Adjusted OIBDA to be a useful metric for management and investors to evaluate and compare the ongoing operating performance of our business on a consistent basis across reporting periods, as it eliminates the effect of noncash items such as depreciation of tangible assets, amortization of intangible assets that were primarily recognized in business combinations, asset impairments and write-offs, as well as the effect of restructurings, gains and losses on asset sales and special items, which we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance. We exclude the impacts of equity-based compensation to allow us to be more closely aligned with the industry and analyst community. A limitation of this measure, however, is that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues in our business or the current or future expected cash expenditures for restructuring costs. The Adjusted OIBDA measure also does not include equity-based compensation, which is and will remain a key element of our overall long-term compensation package. Moreover, the Adjusted OIBDA measures do not reflect gains and losses on asset sales, impairment charges and write-offs related to goodwill, intangible assets and fixed assets or special items which impact our operating performance. We evaluate the investments in such tangible and intangible assets through other financial measures, such as capital expenditure budgets, investment spending levels and return on capital.

    Free Cash Flow. We define Free Cash Flow as cash provided by operating activities, less capital expenditures, product development costs and principal payments on capital leases. We consider Free Cash Flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the business that, after capital expenditures, capitalized product development costs and principal payments on capital leases, can be used for strategic opportunities, including investing in our business, making strategic acquisitions, and strengthening the balance sheet. Analysis of Free Cash Flow also facilitates management’s comparisons of our operating results to competitors’ operating results. A limitation on the use of this metric is that Free Cash Flow does not represent the total increase or decrease in cash for the period because it excludes certain non-operating cash flows.

    Unique Visitor Metrics

    We utilize unique visitor numbers to evaluate the performance of AOL Properties. In addition, we utilize unique visitor numbers to evaluate the reach of the AOL Advertising Network, which includes both AOL Properties and the Third Party Network. Unique visitor numbers provide an indication of our consumer reach. Although our consumer reach does not correlate directly to advertising revenue, we believe that our ability to broadly reach diverse demographic and geographic audiences is attractive to brand advertisers seeking to promote their brands to a variety of consumers without having to partner with multiple content providers. The source for our unique visitor information is a third party (comScore Media Metrix, or “Media Metrix”).

    Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release and our conference call at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time today may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding business strategies, market potential, future financial and operational performance and other matters. Words such as “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “plans,” “will,” “believes” and words and terms of similar substance used in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs about future events. As with any projection or forecast, they are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Except as required by law, we are under no obligation to, and expressly disclaim any obligation to, update or alter any forward-looking statements whether as a result of such changes, new information, subsequent events or otherwise. Various factors could adversely affect our operations, business or financial results in the future and cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed in detail in the “Risk Factors” sections contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 (the “Annual Report”) and in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 (the “Quarterly Report”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, we operate a web services company in a highly competitive, rapidly changing and consumer- and technology-driven industry. This industry is affected by government regulation, economic, strategic, political and social conditions, consumer response to new and existing products and services, technological developments and, particularly in view of new technologies, the continued ability to protect intellectual property rights. Our actual results could differ materially from management’s expectations because of changes in such factors. Achieving our business and financial objectives, including improved financial results and maintenance of a strong balance sheet and liquidity position, could be adversely affected by the factors discussed or referenced under the “Risk Factors” sections contained in the Annual Report and Quarterly Report as well as, among other things: 1) changes in our plans, strategies and intentions; 2) stock price volatility; 3) future borrowing and restrictive covenants under the new revolving credit facility; 4) the impact of significant acquisitions, dispositions and other similar transactions; 5) our ability to attract and retain key employees; 6) any negative unintended consequences of cost reductions, restructuring actions or similar efforts, including with respect to any associated savings, charges or other amounts; 7) market adoption of new products and services; 8) our ability to attract and retain unique visitors to our properties; 9) asset impairments; and 10) the impact of “cyber espionage.”

    About AOL

    AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a brand company, committed to continuously innovating, growing, and investing in brands and experiences that inform, entertain, and connect the world. The home of a world-class collection of premium brands, AOL creates original content that engages audiences on a local and global scale. We help marketers connect with these audiences through effective and engaging digital advertising solutions.

    From time to time, we post information about AOL on our investor relations website (http://ir.aol.com) and our official corporate blog (http://blog.aol.com).

  • AOL Buys Adap.tv In Armstrong’s Biggest Deal Yet

    AOL Buys Adap.tv In Armstrong’s Biggest Deal Yet

    AOL just announced that it is acquiring Adap.tv for $405 million ($322 million in cash and about $83 million in stock). As some have pointed out, this is the biggest acquisition the company has made since Tim Armstrong took over in 2009 (The Huffington Post was $315 million).

    According to AOL, the acquisition will give it “a unique end-to-end solution and video stack for publishers and advertisers.”

    Armstrong says, “AOL is a leader in online video and the combination of AOL and Adap.tv will create the leading video platform in the industry. The Adap.tv founders and team are on a mission to make advertising as easy as e-commerce and the two companies together will aggressively pursue that vision.”

    He added, “Two trends are prevalent in the video space right now – the movement from linear television to online video and the shift from manual transactions to programmatic media buying. Adap.tv is positioned squarely in front of the huge opportunity these trends are presenting.

    “At Adap.tv, we are focused on building the most important business within the most important category in digital advertising,” said Adap.tv CEO Amir Ashkenazi. “We believe that most TV advertising will soon be traded programmatically on platforms like ours. The combination of AOL and Adap.tv accelerates our vision of efficient and effective TV and video advertising.”

    Adap.tv will be independently operate as part of AOL’s video organization led by Ran Harnevo. It will be included as part of the AOL Networks solution, which includes Advertising.com, the AOL On Network, Be On, ADTECH and Pictela.

    While the boards of both AOL and Adap.tv have approved the deal, it is subject to closing conditions. The companies expect it to close in Q3.

    Image: Ashkenazi and Armstrong (BusinessWire)

  • Yahoo Acquires Ad Tech Startup Admovate

    Yahoo Acquires Ad Tech Startup Admovate

    A day after the company posted its Q2 revenues (which are down, by the way), Yahoo announced yet another acquisition – Admovate, a mobile ad tech startup.

    Yahoo says the acquisition is part of its efforts to further invest in its own ad tech platforms – APT, Genome and Right Media.

    “For the past year, Yahoo! has focused on rolling out innovative, beautiful and fast new products across desktop and mobile devices,” says Yahoo SVP of Display Advertising and Advertising Technology Scott Burke. “At the same time, we’ve created innovative advertising experiences, and we are investing more deeply in programmatic buying and mobile advertising.”

    “Admovate’s personalization technology accelerates our capabilities in mobile advertising, and we gain an exceptionally talented technical team,” says Burke.

    The Admovate team writes in a message on its homepage:

    When we started AdMovate in 2012, we built a product enabling advertisers to create and deliver personalized, hyper-local targeted offers through the mobile channel. We’ve always been passionate about helping marketers engage their consumers at the right time and place through personalized messages.

    In Yahoo!, we found a team which shares our vision and is investing to make it real on a massive scale. We’re thrilled to join Yahoo!’s advertising team where together we will execute that vision faster and address the most important mobile advertising challenges for our customers.

    The team will join Yahoo’s display advertising team in Sunnyvale.

    Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

    Image: Marissa’s Tumblr

  • AOL Announces Marketplace by AdTech

    AOL Announces Marketplace by AdTech

    AOL announced the launch of a new sell-side platform called Marketplace by AdTech today.

    With the offering, premium publishers can leverage AdTech’s technology and AOL Networks’ cross-platform ad serving platform, mange blocks and transparency settings at an inventory level, and get “high-touch client service from setup all the way through yield evaluation.”

    “Our goal at AOL Networks is to simplify digital advertising at scale and now, with the addition of Marketplace, publishers have a one-stop solution to manage every piece of inventory they have,” said David Jacobs, Senior Vice President, AOL Networks. “If you don’t have both supply and demand solutions, you are disadvantaged in this increasingly complex digital advertising ecosystem. With Marketplace, we give publishers a connected programmatic platform that is transparent and efficient as well as pre-loaded with demand.”

    “Marketplace was built with an in-depth understanding of publisher needs – after all, we based it off of the needs of one of the largest publishers in the world: AOL,” Jacobs added. “Having partnered with thousands of premium publishers for over a decade on the buy side, we have developed significant experience and insights into how to drive demand and yield for publisher partners who are seeking to increase their revenues. We are excited to offer our Marketplace solution to drive value for our partners on a global basis.”

    The announcement was made at ad:tech San Francisco by AOL CEO Tim Armstrong.

  • AOL’s Advertising.com Group Is Now Just AOL Networks

    AOL’s Advertising.com Group Is Now Just AOL Networks

    AOL announced today that its Advertising.com group has been rebranded as AOL Networks, and is aligned with its parent AOL brand. The company believes the move will help stakeholders better understand its assets.

    AOL Networks CEO Ned Brody (pictured) says, “AOL Networks will continue to offer global advertising solutions that help increase yield through a rich and broad set of platforms, formats, and technologies. We have heard from many clients that there is an increasing number of systems and partners they need to do business with to accomplish their online marketing objectives. The group’s mission has always been to simplify digital advertising at scale.”

    “AOL is synonymous with premium,” he says. “And in the network space, there is a real need for premium experiences. With our established leadership in video, performance and now programmatic, plus AOL’s foothold in premium advertising, we are better positioned than ever to define and own a transcending solution.”

    The Advertising.com brand will continue to live on under the bigger AOL Networks brand. It has a network of 596 million global unique visitors. Other AOL Networks brands like The AOL On Network, goviral, ADTECH, and Pictela, will continue to operate under their existing names.

    CMO Allie Kline says, ““Given the synergies between our offerings and customers, and those of our AOL parent, it made the most sense to align the brands more closely together.”

    The new gateway for the AOL Networks brand is simply AOLNetworks.com. That launches today.

  • Google Launches Links API For Affiliate Network

    Google Launches Links API For Affiliate Network

    Google announced the beta launch of a new Links API for the Google Affiliate Network today.

    “Since we launched our first set of API’s, we’ve consistently heard from publishers that they want an automated, flexible way to access and serve affiliate ads to scale their marketing efforts, create more unique advertising experiences, and better monetize their websites,” Google said on the Affiliate Network blog. “Today, we’ve launched a beta of the new Links API, enabling publishers to query for links, banners, and even create publisher-specific links in real time.”

    “If you’re using our existing API’s or are looking for more advanced ways to distribute affiliate links, try our Links API to programmatically access and show ads from Google Affiliate Network advertisers in new and creative ways,” Google said.

    You can find the documentation here.

    Google first launched the Affiliate Network API in December, allowing publishers and advertisers to automate various tasks related to the network. Publishers, for example, can use it to look up advertiser data or their own info. Advertisers can use it to look at publisher data or their own info. Developers can integrate data from events that occur in the network into their own sites and applications.

    Google gave a presentation at Google I/O earlier this Summer about the APIs, which Google referenced again in today’s announcement. You can watch that below: