scorecard
  1. Home
  2. tech
  3. Yahoo has killed its online video hub, Screen

Yahoo has killed its online video hub, Screen

Yahoo has killed its online video hub, Screen
Tech2 min read

Couric Mayer Yahoo

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Katie Couric and Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.

Yahoo's online video hub Screen is no more.

The company has shuttered the Screen service in the latest sign of CEO Marissa Mayer's ongoing struggles to revitalize Yahoo's business and to bet big that video streaming could draw a new generation of users to its site.

And with Yahoo facing increasing investor discontent, and pressure to deliver improving business results, the demise of Screen could be the first of more big changes and product shutdowns.

Yahoo warned in October that it would narrow its focus in the coming months.

Yahoo said in a statement that the various videos available on Screen would be "transitioned" to other parts of Yahoo, specifically to its digital magazines. News of Screen's demise, which Yahoo said officially happened last week, was first reported by Variety.

Screen was launched in October 2011, before Mayer took the reins as CEO.

But Mayer has made streaming video one of the major pillars of the comeback effort that she is leading. Under her watch, Yahoo has spent heavily to bolster its catalog of video content for Screen, acquiring the rights to "Saturday Night Live," live-streaming an NFL football game, and hiring TV anchor Katie Couric, among other things.

The strategy has not delivered the payoff that Yahoo expected. In October the company took a $42 million write-down for original video programs such as "Community."

It's unclear whether the Screen closure will entail any layoffs, according to Variety, which noted that Couric's daily news reports will continue to be available on Yahoo.

NOW WATCH: Engineers in Iran have created a robot that imitates human behavior with scary accuracy

READ MORE ARTICLES ON


Advertisement

Advertisement