Carlton And Granada Bring Jeeves To The UK
Carlton and Granada have set up a joint $125 million (£78 million) deal to bring the Ask Jeeves internet search engine to the UK. The deal between the two ITV companies and Ask Jeeves Inc. comes as Carlton has upset the ITV apple cart somewhat by announcing the terms of an £8 billion surprise merger with the third largest ITV company, United News & Media (see IPA Concerned Over Carlton/UNM Merger’s Effect On Airtime Sales).
The Ask Jeeves service was launched in the US two years ago at the www.ask.com address. Since then it has been ranked as the number one search engine and navigation website by a number of independent surveys. Carlton and Granada are investing £20 million each in cash, with a further spend allocated for advertising, to bring the service to the UK. Carlton and Granada will together own 50% of the service, with Ask Jeeves Inc. holding the remaining half.
Ask Jeeves works by using everyday question and answer English to allow users to find the information they require via the web. A sample question might be “Where can I buy a digital camera online?”, to which Ask Jeeves will respond with further questions in order to narrow the search down. The UK version of the service will be especially tailored to the interests of users in the UK and Ireland. The current US Ask Jeeves already attracts around 650,000 UK users each month.
Revenues for the business will be generated through advertising and ecommerce, with Ask Jeeves UK linking to a number of retail sites and online stores. Carlton and Granada are already in partnership through their 50:50 ownership of digital terrestrial broadcaster, ONdigital. ONdigital is planning to launch its internet and interactive services early next year.
Commenting on the new partnership, Carlton’s chief executive Steven Cain, says: “By setting up Ask Jeeves in the UK we are investing in some of the most sophisticated internet search technology in the world. We will build and promote the Ask Jeeves site and use this technology to offer an intelligent search service to our customers – through Carlton’s own website (www.carlton.com) and through ONdigital’s interactive television service which is currently in development.”
Carlton Communications: 0171 663 6363 Granada Media: 0171 737 8719