Auto Trader is signed up as Tiscali revamps its portal

by Andrew McCormick, Media Week 11-Dec-07

Tiscali has struck a deal with motoring magazine Auto Trader, ahead of a relaunch of its online portal planned for early 2008. The portal plans to roll out an array of new features, with video at the centre, in a bid to reverse an audience decline of more than 28% during the past 12 months (Source: Nielsen Online).

Prior to the relaunch, Tiscali has teamed with Auto Trader to provide
users with new and used car listings. The car title has embedded a
search engine in Tiscali's motoring offering so that users can find and

buy cars online through the portal.

Auto Trader has developed its online offering and now attracts more than
eight million unique users a month, according to the latest ABC
Electronic figures. It has embarked on a policy of striking deals to
extend its reach. Sky.com was the latest to sign a deal in
September.

Tiscali's revamp, planned to go live in January, will see video placed
at the heart of the site. Video content on Tiscali is limited at the
moment, but the portal is seeking a slice of the growing flow of ad
money heading towards online video services.

Tiscali's move follows MSN's bid to make video a core part of its
offering in October through the launch of MSN Video.

The Microsoft portal has signed up major broadcasters including the BBC,
ITN, Reuters, the Biography Channel and the History Channel. Portals
such as Tiscali, MSN, AOL and Yahoo! are facing huge competition from
social media sites, including Bebo and MySpace.

Bebo effectively repositioned as an entertainment site last month, when
it secured content from broadcasters including ITN and Channel 4. The
launch was another example of social networks increasingly entering into
competition with portals. MySpace, built on a community of music lovers,
defines itself as a portal, rather than a social network.