Snowball's chance in ebiz hell

Staff cuts, Nasdaq delisting in sight

By Drew Cullen • Get more from this author

Posted in e-Business, 17th April 2001 20:47 GMT

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Snowball, the San Francisco-based affiliate ad network, is sacking 55 people, a third of its staff. The cost-cutting move comes on the same day as the company revealed that NASDAQ intends to delist its stock for falling below the minimum bid price of $1 a share.

Bad news for Snowball is really bad news for its affiliates - any game site with an IGN button is one of "theirs". Snowball has two more networks - ChickClick and HighSchoolAlumni, of which we know nothing.

The American youth and tech advertising networks are dropping like flies: none dead yet, but eFront, the ethically challenged combine, looks decidedly sickly; Maximum PC's owner, Future Publishing, has some huge issues of its own - affiliate networks are a bit of distraction, under the circumstances; UGO, the most likely survivor, has got the money but is playing hardball over payment terms, while sacking a few fistful of affiliates.

Snowball is mustard keen to get up there with UGO: it says it is committed to getting cashflow even by the end of the year. But if does achieve this, what then?

Affiliate networks looks like an idea who's time has passed - and not just in youth and tech markets...
anyone checked out lately how the 600 affiliates of sport network Rivals.com, have been doing? ®

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