Why did xtra go Yahoo! and not MSN?

Mauricio wonders why xtra!Yahoo?

I guess one might never know the full story on why Telecom New Zealand decided to terminate the partnership between its Xtra ISP and Microsoft’s MSN content provider here in New Zealand, instead running into the open arms of Yahoo7.

I guess not – but MSN’s current offering –  msn.co.nz – sucks the big one in NZ – look at their site – it really does. (comment away if you agree. or not)

MSN has a better presence in Australia as they are aligned with Packer’s nineMSN and getting news, other content and traffic from Chanel Nine – which makes for a richer though still spartan experience.

Yahoo also sucks, but not as badly. They are losing traffic and ad share in Australia, and having a bit of a shakeup as a result.

Both sites seem to believe that editorial is optional, and that you can prosper on a mixture of email and lousy search. You can’t.

Both sites are dependant on giant US (and Australian) based companies, that really don’t care about NZ. We see that.
It does surprise me how lousy Yahoo! has been downunder – I’m a big fan of their US based site. It will be interesting to see what happens next in Australia.