Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz had a strong statement on Tiger Woods.
"'God bless Tiger,' she said to a group of analysts at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York today. Consumers who seemingly can't get enough of his reported extramarital affairs have helped drive big traffic surges to Yahoo's front page, as well as its news, sports and gossip sites.
Beyond the initial accident and Mr. Woods' initial silence about it, the story has held the public's interest as a steady stream of new alleged mistresses have come forward. Ms. Bartz said that interest in the Tiger Woods story has even exceeded that of Michael Jackson, who died in June.
Asked if all the fuss surrounding Mr. Woods would help 'make' Yahoo's quarter, Ms. Bartz replied, 'Oh, absolutely. He already has.'
Ms. Bartz told analysts the challenge ahead for the iconic web portal is not to compete with Google or Microsoft but to compete for the biggest pot of ad dollars, which is currently in broadcast and cable TV. Ad dollars have not flowed online as audiences have, she said, in part because the promise of online advertising was oversold to marketers at the outset 'and did not deliver.'"