Oath Inc.

Oath Inc. was a digital media and advertising technology company formed as a subsidiary of Verizon Communications. It was created to consolidate the assets acquired from AOL and Yahoo! into a single entity intended to compete with major players like Google and Facebook in the digital advertising market. The company's portfolio included a vast array of popular web properties, advertising platforms, and content brands. Its formation was a central part of Verizon's strategy to build a third major digital advertising ecosystem.

History

The company was established in 2017 following Verizon's acquisition of the core internet business of Yahoo! for approximately $4.48 billion. This move came two years after Verizon had purchased AOL for $4.4 billion, with the intention of merging the two historic internet pioneers. The formation was officially announced by Verizon's then-CEO Lowell McAdam and was led by Tim Armstrong, the former CEO of AOL. The name "Oath" was chosen to signify a commitment to trusted brands and content. However, the integration of the legacy systems and cultures of AOL and Yahoo! proved challenging amidst a rapidly shifting digital landscape dominated by Alphabet Inc. and Meta Platforms.

Products and services

Its portfolio encompassed a wide range of consumer-facing digital media brands and advertising technology services. Major content properties included Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Sports, HuffPost, TechCrunch, and Engadget, which attracted hundreds of millions of monthly users globally. On the advertising side, its key platforms were the programmatic ad exchange One by AOL (later rebranded) and the demand-side platform formerly known as BrightRoll. The company also offered email services through Yahoo! Mail, search via the Yahoo! Search partnership with Microsoft Bing, and web hosting through AOL.com. These services were supported by a massive data collection operation aimed at targeted advertising.

Corporate affairs

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Verizon Communications, its leadership and strategic direction were closely tied to its parent company. Tim Armstrong served as its CEO until 2018, when he was succeeded by Guru Gowrappan. The company's headquarters were located in New York City, with significant operational offices in Sunnyvale, California and Dulles, Virginia. In 2019, following continued struggles to gain significant market share against Google Advertising and the Facebook Ads platform, Verizon began to wind down the Oath brand. The assets were subsequently reorganized under a new entity named Verizon Media, which was later sold to Apollo Global Management and renamed Yahoo!.

Technology and infrastructure

The company operated one of the largest digital content and advertising networks in the world, relying on extensive data centers and a complex technology stack. It integrated the backend systems of AOL's advertising platforms with Yahoo!'s user data and publishing tools. Key infrastructure included the Yahoo! User Database and the AOL Marketplace for programmatic advertising. It also maintained the content management systems for its many publishing brands and invested in areas like virtual reality through units like RYOT. The technological challenge of merging two disparate legacy architectures was a significant hurdle throughout its existence.

Criticism and controversies

The company faced significant scrutiny, particularly regarding data privacy and security. It inherited the fallout from the massive Yahoo! data breaches that affected billions of user accounts, which had occurred prior to the Verizon acquisition and led to investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its advertising practices were also examined for potential violations of the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union. Furthermore, the consolidation of major media brands like The Huffington Post under a telecommunications giant raised concerns among journalists and advocates about editorial independence and media concentration.

Category:Internet companies of the United States Category:Companies based in New York City Category:Verizon Communications