Yahoo Screen
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video hosting, streaming media |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Defunct | June 30, 2019 |
| Fate | Discontinued |
| Parent | Yahoo! |
The corporation Yahoo! managed various video platforms, starting with Yahoo! Video, a video hosting service introduced in 2006. Initially supporting user-generated uploads, the service later transitioned to showcasing curated content from Yahoo's own media properties. In 2011, it was rebranded as Yahoo! Screen, with a focus on original productions and web series. Prominent titles included Burning Love, Electric City, Ghost Ghirls, Losing It with John Stamos, Sin City Saints, and Other Space. Additionally, Yahoo! Screen acquired the rights to produce a sixth season of the sitcom Community after its cancellation by NBC. Despite these efforts, the platform was discontinued in January 2016 following a $42 million impairment charge attributed to underwhelming performance of its original content.
In August 2016, Yahoo! collaborated with subscription-based video-on-demand provider Hulu to introduce Yahoo! View, a free streaming service that offered recent episodes from major U.S. networks ABC, NBC, and Fox, along with a catalog of archived shows following a "skinny bundle" approach. This service was terminated on June 30, 2019.
History
Yahoo! Video began as a comprehensive internet video search engine before incorporating user uploads in June 2006. A redesign in 2008 shifted the emphasis exclusively to content hosted on Yahoo!. User upload capabilities were removed in December 2010 in preparation for the launch of Yahoo! Screen in 2011, which debuted with eight original series. Among these was the Emmy-nominated show Burning Love, which streamed three seasons on Yahoo! Screen before later syndication on E!.
In April 2013, Yahoo! secured streaming rights for NBC’s Saturday Night Live archives and selected clips from current seasons, holding non-exclusive international digital distribution rights. By June 2014, Yahoo! had obtained the sixth season of NBC’s sitcom Community, premiering it on Yahoo! Screen in March 2015. That same year, original series such as Sin City Saints and Other Space were launched exclusively in the U.S., alongside an expansion of its Vevo licensing agreement to include music videos and concert footage on its platform. However, financial underperformance of Community was identified as a contributing factor to the decline of Yahoo! Screen.
In June 2015, Yahoo! Screen acquired global digital streaming rights for the NFL International Series game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars—marking the first NFL game broadcast primarily online without traditional television coverage outside select regions.
After recording a $42 million write-down due to disappointing original programming results, Yahoo! Screen ceased operations on January 4, 2016. Its original video content was redistributed across other Yahoo portals, notably relocating television series to a dedicated "originals" section within Yahoo! TV.
On August 8, 2016, following Hulu’s discontinuation of its free streaming tier, the two companies partnered to launch Yahoo! View, a complimentary video-on-demand platform featuring recent episodes from ABC, NBC, and Fox networks. New episodes were added eight days after their initial broadcast and included integration of fan-generated content from Tumblr. The service was discontinued on June 30, 2019.
See also
External links
- Advertising video on demand
- Former video hosting services
- Discontinued Yahoo! services
- Streaming media systems
- Internet properties established in 2006
- Internet properties disestablished in 2011
- Internet properties established in 2011
- Internet properties disestablished in 2016
- Internet properties established in 2016
- Internet properties disestablished in 2019
- Defunct video on demand services