Yahoo reportedly wants to rival Netflix and HBO with four original shows
By Rich McCormickon April 7, 2014 03:05 am
Yahoo is close to ordering four series of original programming, designed to rival the kind of shows seen on cable-TV networks such as HBO and streaming services such as Netflix, The Wall Street Journal reports. The shows would be half-hour comedies, created by writers and directors with TV experience. Seasons would comprise of 10 episodes, with each episode's budget reportedly ranging from $700,000 to a few million dollars.
"[Yahoo is] looking at the same type of shows that Netflix and Amazon are eyeing," a source told The Wall Street Journal. Marissa Mayer, the company's CEO, has yet to secure any deals, but is reportedly planning to demonstrate Yahoo's ability to produce top-tier programming to advertisers at an event in late April. Mayer has focused the company's attentions on video content since she took Yahoo's top job in July 2012. Last year she signed a a deal to stream Saturday Night Live's 38-year back catalog and is reportedly aiming to lure YouTube's biggest stars to Yahoo's stable with the promise of more money.
If deals are finalized for the four new shows, they would likely be streamed on Yahoo's streaming service, Yahoo Screen. While users can watch Yahoo's content through an iOS app or on their browser, Yahoo Screen is currently far from the omnipresent service offered by competitors such as Amazon and Netflix, who have apps on gaming consoles, tablets, phones, TVs, and other devices.
While the episode budgets being discussed suggest that Yahoo is ready to compete with other high-quality TV content producers, without a solution that means viewers can watch new shows in their living rooms, it may be tough for the company to cast its half-hour programming as a true alternative to traditional TV programming — no matter how much they spend.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/news/article_...4579485820610824060-lMyQjAxMTA0MDAwNjEwNDYyWj
http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/7/55...four-original-shows-to-rival-netflix-says-wsj
Yahoo reportedly plans to steal YouTube stars for its own competing service
By Bryan Bishopon March 28, 2014 10:05 pm
Yahoo has made a number of bold moves since CEO Marissa Mayer took the reins, and its latest bid for relevance may include taking on none other than YouTube. Recodereports that the company has been working on a new initiative to lure away prominent YouTube stars and networks with the simplest incentive of all: more money. There's been a growing chorus of complaints over what many video makers are able to earn on YouTube — its one of the reasons that Disney's $500 million acquisition of Maker Studiosthis week came as such a surprise — and Yahoo hopes that offering better ad revenue, guaranteed ad rates, and increased marketing will peel some of those content creators away from the current web video giant.
Video has been a particular area for interest for Mayer, with Yahoo signing some big partnership deals and then surfacing that content through a new app called Yahoo Screen. According to today's report, Yahoo's video competitor would have that same kind of focus — hence looking towards established stars and networks — rather than just launching an open-to-all video hosting service. Yahoo reportedly hopes to put its plans into motion in the coming months.
Source: http://recode.net/2014/03/28/ready-...g-its-own-youtube-and-poaching-youtube-stars/
http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/28/5...l-youtube-stars-for-its-own-competing-service
Yahoo will block Google and Facebook accounts from accessing its services
By Sean Hollisteron March 4, 2014 10:47 pm
Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is transforming her company, one product at a time. But if you want to use those products, you'll need a Yahoo sign-in. According to Reuters, Yahoo will begin removing the option to sign into any of Yahoo's services with a Facebook or Google account, both options which have been available for years. Starting with "Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick 'Em," a fantasy college basketball service, the company says it will eventually remove Facebook and Google login buttons from all its products.
While we're not quite sure what Yahoo's exact justifications are for the move or how many users might find themselves needing a new identity, the company presumably believes that its services are now attractive enough that Facebook and Google account holders can be compelled to switch — or at least that those who might turn their back on Yahoo now aren't as valuable as those who stay. Genuine Yahoo IDs might make users more likely to use other Yahoo services, and their activity can be tracked and experience personalized more easily. Recently, Yahoo freed up a number of new Yahoo usernames by retiring abandoned identities.
A Yahoo representative confirmed the story to The Verge, and provided the following statement: "This new process, which now asks users to sign in with a Yahoo username, will allow us to offer the best personalized experience to everyone."
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/05/us-yahoo-login-idUSBREA2407820140305
http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/4/54...ogle-and-facebook-accounts-from-accessing-its
Yahoo! is desperate out here & is just gonna copy what everyone else is doing.
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