Dive Brief:

• The rumor mill is busy at CES with tales of a possible Verizon acquisition or joint venture with AOL. 
• Although nothing has been confirmed, the rumors have marketers thinking about the possibilities a partnership could provide in targeting ads across multiple devices. 
• Verizon's ability to follow users across desktop and mobile paired with AOL's ad tech software bundle could prove valuable to advertisers.  

Dive Insight:

A Verizon-AOL pairing could open up huge opportunities for advertisers—mobile and otherwise. Teamwork between the two would mean that Verizon could stop working as a data partner and would put it more on par with rivals. Regardless of all the speculation, an official proposal hasn't been made and Verizon's Chief Executive, Lowell McAdam, said at the conference the two companies aren't having "significant acquisition discussions."