TechCrunch leaves Federated Media ad network?

Judgment made on April 1, 2009: TechCrunch remains with Federated Media ad network. This prediction failed to come true, which the community got right. -- The Industry Standard

How long will it take for TechCrunch to leave Federated Media, the online vertical ad network the tech blog uses to sell its leftover ad inventory? In a post, star blogger Michael Arrington says he's "nervous" about Federated Media because the company announced layoffs and payments have "dipped substantially." Arrington notes that Federated Media is responsible for delivering a third of TechCrunch's total revenues.

FM founder John Battelle says the company is focusing its strategy away from selling graphical display ads to "conversational marketing," a social media tool used to promote products.

Arrington notes that he is not in charge of business decisions, which he says belongs to TechCrunch CEO Heather Harde. Should TC choose to leave FM for a bigger ad network, it would not be the first tech blog to do so. GigaOm parted ways with its longtime partner in November.

Prediction: TechCrunch announces that it will dump Federated Media in favor of another ad network by the end of March 2009. 

Image: Matthoov/Flickr