The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported on Monday evening that AOL, a unit of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), is in talks to acquire a start-up mobile advertising company. Third Screen Media is a Boston-based start-up that is working on ad solutions for cell phones and portable web devices. The terms will not be known and the companies have reportedly been in talks for a while, but $80 million is the number being discussed.

Third Screen Media actually has an impressive roster of publishers: mobile advertising inventory offering best-in-class content, targeted demographics and broad reach. Customers and partners include USA TODAY, MSNBC, MasterCard, Dunkin Donuts, MSN, and The Weather Channel.

This kind of advertising is still in its nascent stages so it is unknown just exactly what the future value of Third Screen Media will be. Most current bets are that the mobile ad market will be big in the future and the land-grabs appear to have started.

AOL may not care as much about the blocked bid over TradeDoubler now, and shareholders may be much better off with this deal. The TradeDoubler bid is valued around $900 million, and the company is based in Sweden. Third Screen is noted as being valued at $80 million and it is based in Boston. The company may not be as far along in revenues on a relative basis, but it is a much better ground floor opportunity. AOL will still want to pursue more ad and content deals in Europe, but there are probably much better niche oriented choices like this.

Jon Ogg is a partner in 24/7 Wall St., LLC; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.