Verizon’s mixed quarter shows why it needs AOL and Yahoo - The Washington Post

Apparently planning to transition from telecommunications oligopolist to Internet advertising oligopolist

"“Yahoo is a complementary business to AOL, giving us market-leading content brands and a valuable portfolio of online properties and mobile applications that attract over 1 billion monthly active consumer views," McAdam said. "We expect this acquisition to put us in a great position as a top global mobile media company and give us a significant source of revenue growth for the future.”

Perhaps the most significant part of the Yahoo deal for Verizon is how it recasts who Verizon's rivals are. In an interview with CNBC, AOL chief executive Tim Armstrong named Silicon Valley giants Google and Facebook as his key rivals -- not AT&T or Comcast. But, he said, Verizon will have to find its own path to success.

"Trying to do what Google and Facebook do is not a good strategy," Armstrong said in the interview. "We have to have a differentiated performance.""

Verizon’s mixed quarter shows why it needs AOL and Yahoo - The Washington Post