The Wall Street Journal
Yahoo has similar broadband deals with major phone companies Verizon Communications and BT Group Plc and Canadian cable Rogers Communications.
The Wall Street Journal highlighted how rivals Google Inc. or Microsoft Corp. in the past year have struck a series of high-profile deals where they pay major computer and media companies for the privilege of marketing services to their partners’ customers, reversing the trend of five years ago when AT&T and others agreed to pay Yahoo.
“Yahoo is likely in jeopardy of losing its AT&T deal, or at least a reworking of the deal that could materially scale back the relationship,” analyst Scott Devitt of broker Stifel Nicolaus warned in a research note to clients issued Friday.
But the source close to the talks said the existing broadband contract includes a provision that AT&T customers who have signed up for the service would remain Yahoo customers for ads and Web services, whether or not AT&T chooses to renew.