Overture Signs Deals with Big Fish, adding more fuel to the fire

Adding more fuel to the fire with its on-going rivalry with Google, Overture has announced its agreement to license search technology and sponsored search listings to the Cable News Network, ESPN and The Wall Street Journal.

These new partnerships will most likely strengthen Overture's advertising revenue as well as give it a strategic edge over Google. The pioneer of sponsored ads, now owned by Yahoo, Overture has been gaining turf on Google's domination of the web search market.

"We've gone from being a one-trick pony to offering site search, sponsored search, content match and Web search, through Yahoo search technology," said Bill Demas, senior vice president of Overture's partner business.

A former Google technology partner, CNN.com will now have its site's Web search technology provided by Overture. This new deal is an extension of an earlier commercial search agreement between CNN and Overture. Overture will also become the sole provider of the sponsored ads that appear in search results and beside related stories on the news site. These listings are referred to as Overture's Content Match advertising.

For ESPN.com, Overture is providing licensed technology to serve ads that appear next to news stories and other editorial items.

Under the deal with The Wall Street Journal Online, Overture will deliver sponsored search listings and Content Match to 689,000 online subscribers. In addition, the news site will also have use of Overture's search technology.

On the Google front, they have signed a licensing deal with BellSouth, who is replacing their own homegrown search engine with Google technology.

And the war wages on.