ESPN's decision to jump off the ad network bandwagon apparently hasn't dissuaded Forbes.com. The financial publisher has launched its Business and Finance Blog Network, according to a report in Media Week.

“Forbes.com can ensure advertisers are reaching a hard-to-find and very desirable audience within safe, well-lit environments by exclusively inviting best-of-breed business and investing bloggers to our new [network,]” said President and CEO Jim Spanfeller.

The Forbes ad network will consist of about 400 hand-selected blogs.

Ad networks, which have had a long history of praise from online advertisers, have hit a rough patch lately. A week before ESPN decided to ditch the concept, Federated Media boss John Battelle heaped criticism on the overcrowded field of ad networks. Whether that criticism will apply to Forbes remains unclear. For now, Forbes appears committed to working with a small pool of publishers -- something Battelle touted as a critical component to a successful ad network.