A former News Corp executive testified in the ongoing antitrust trial that ditching Google’s advertising tools could cost the company $9 million in revenue.
During the course Antitrust lawsuit against GoogleA former News Corp executive has revealed that the media company could lose $9 million in advertising revenue if it stops using Google’s advertising tools. The trial, which is taking place in Virginia, is part of a broader investigation by the US Department of Justice into whether Google has illegally monopolised the digital advertising market.
Testimony details
Stephanie Layser, who oversaw ad tech at News Corp from 2017 to 2022, testified that Google’s ad services are so dominant that it would be costly for companies to stop using them. In 2016, News Corp earned $83.3 million from ads sold through different ad tech platforms, with more than half of those transactions handled by Google’s ad exchange. Layser estimated that $9 million of this revenue was unique to Google and would be lost if News Corp moved to another platform.
Layser also expressed frustration with Google’s business practices, claiming that the tech giant’s ad servers and exchange systems made it difficult for publishers to explore alternative options. “I felt like we were being held hostage,” Layser said. When he left News Corp, about 70-80% of the company’s advertising transactions were processed through Google’s ad exchange.
The antitrust battle against Google
The antitrust trial against Google, which is expected to last several weeks, will determine whether the search engine giant abused its dominance in key advertising technologies such as publisher ad servers, advertiser ad networks and ad exchanges. The Justice Department is seeking to show that Google unfairly limited competition by preventing companies from using other tools and promoting offerings through its own platform.
Google responded by arguing that the lawsuit is based on outdated industry data, saying that major publishers today use an average of six different advertising platforms, not just Google.
Potential consequences
If Google is found guilty of violating antitrust laws, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema could order Google to sell its shares. Google Ads Manager platform, which includes both the ad server for publishers and the ad exchange. The outcome of the trial could have important implications for the future of digital advertising and competition in the technology industry.
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