In a shock move that threatens to position Sohu.com in direct
competition with chinadotcom corporation, the Chinese portal has
appointed ad network 24/7 Media Asia to globally sell and serve its ads
online.
With 24/7 being a subsidiary of rival portal chinadotcom, the allocation
of Sohu's business to the ad network is an indication of Sohu.com's need
to ramp-up revenues as a result of the cluttered and unprofitable state
of China's online content market, according to industry insiders.
According to Sohu.com CEO Charles Zhang, the developing Internet market
was "the biggest challenge facing Internet companies in Asia today".
