In a deal that might possibly help thwart a Microsoft buyout of Yahoo, AOL's Platform-A sales network will now start handling all of Verizon's ad inventory for online video and display ads, as well as on the mobile side.

Unveiled today, a hefty and lucrative agreement between the Time Warner division and the huge telephone carrier covers all of Verizon's ad serving, sales, management, targeting and placement requirements.

Meanwhile, after a lengthy meeting on Friday, Yahoo decided to meet with both Microsoft and Time-Warner -- separately, it seems -- about possible business arrangements with the respective companies. The day before, AOL CEO Randy Falco appeared to almost blatantly court some sort of acquisition for his company, although he left staff hanging in the breeze as to any specifics.

Many observers still consider an acquisition by Microsoft as the more likely scenario for Yahoo than any type of agreement with AOL.

But particularly now that the deal between AOL and Verizon is sealed, could Platform-A serve as strong enough bait for AOL to hook Yahoo into something? Online and mobile advertising customers the size of Verizon can bring lots of revenues into company coffers.

Obviously, Yahoo is keenly interested in building a next generation ad platform, anyway. Its own emerging offering in that category, previously codenamed "Panama," received the formal brand name "AMP" only last week. But Microsoft has expressed absolutely no interest in retaining Yahoo's new ad platform if Microsoft's Yahoo buyout does go through.

About a month ago, AOL named Lynda Clarizio, head of AOL's Advertising.com division, to replace Curt Viebranz as Platform-A's president, so as to speed up integration among the various entities forming the new platform. These entities include the Advertising.com, Quigo, and Third Screen Media ad networks; ad management firm AdTech; and behavioral networking specialist Tacoda.

In remarks made at a Bear Stearns media conference, also in mid-March, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes gave some broad hints about Platform-A's future direction -- within AOL, at least. AOL s now trying to adopt a long-term strategy in building "advantage over our competition," said Bewkes. "We're going for the long-range position."

One of the "key objectives" in doing so, he said, is to take better advantage of Advertising.com -- the business unit previously headed by Clarizio -- in ways that "help our business." Essentially, he said, AOL plans to "run more content [through] Ad.com because that's higher margin."