Reading Between, Above and Around The Lines...
Today's action or inaction isn't the point... for me, at least.
As of yesterday's disclosure, we now have some CLEARER
idea of what went into the thinking and navigating and circumnavigating around the SEEK/DIS deal.
When XCIT got the NSCP "prize"---a dubious, leaden
gift at best--there was the article about Barksdale saying something
to Motro that made SEEK walk away from the table. Whether
spot-on true or not, there was something that Barksdale MIGHT
have said, "You walk away from this deal, pal, and you're gonna
take one kind of serious hit in traffic and page views."
Indeed, that happened.
Now, imagine a scenario in which SEEK hadn't done the
DIS deal... we'd be looking at nice revenue growth but the
OTHER news about traffic would have been all the more DEPRESSING and unspinnable.
Had SEEK been able to finalize the DT deal this quarter,
and early in it, that shortfall would have been non-existent.
As earlier speculated, I think there was MORE PRESSURE
on this DIS deal than we all completely understood. I say this
not by way of slamming the deal... because we've got the
CONTENT CONDUIT par excellence that XCIT didn't get.
So, we win... over time. And we win with new DIS-inspired
ad deals that will become quite obvious this coming quarter.
But, I just wanted to paint a fuller picture based on yesterday's
news.
Best Regards, SEEKers,
c m
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