Yahoo "is removing advertisements for online sports bookmakers" after the NFL "threatened to cancel its business with the world's biggest Internet portal," according to Newman & Eichelberger of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Yahoo Sports Dir of Production Tonya Antonucci said that Yahoo -- which broadcasts audio of NFL games on the Internet -- will "eliminate ads by 30 football wagering services" from its NFL Web page. Media execs said that the ads "may have generated as much as" $48M in annual sales. Antonucci: "We are in the process of blocking these gambling-related ads and expect to have them completed by the end of the day [yesterday]." NFL attorney David Proper said that the league did not "find out about the ads until" Friday. Proper: "If we have a business partner who is basically ambushing us with gambling ads, they are not going to be a business partner for very long." The move comes as Yahoo "is one of seven companies vying for rights to produce the NFL's Web site" and is seeking to extend deals with MLB, the NBA and the NHL. ESPN Internet Ventures Senior VP Geoff Reiss said the ads on Yahoo are "a little surprising, and it's contrary to the conventional wisdom on how you endear yourself to rightsholders like the NFL" (BLOOMBERG, 12/14). As of presstime, ads for Internet sports wagering sites were still present on Yahoo's NFL page (THE DAILY).
