Yahoo shutters Screen video service
The tech giant has closed the streaming hub as it looks to redistribute video content through its digital magazine properties
Yahoo is to close down Yahoo Screen, the Netflix competitor it launched two years ago to pull together original and syndicated programming.
Videos from the platform, including NFL games, NBC comedy 'Community' and Katie Couric’s daily news show, will now be moved across to the company's string of digital magazines.
Spanning categories including food, tech, parenting and style, the idea is that relevant content will sit side-by-side in various portals.
“Video content from Yahoo as well as our partners has been transitioned from Yahoo Screen to our digital magazine properties so users can discover complementary content in one place,” a Yahoo spokesperson said.
Despite licensing deals with Viacom's Comedy Central and investment in original programming Yahoo Screen took a $42m write-down back in October, and according to ComScore the video division lost 28 per cent of its unique viewers between 2013 and 2015.
The latest shutter follows the tech giant's announcement in December that it will no longer spin off its $32bn stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (as was planned by chief executive Marrisa Mayer); choosing instead to spin off its core business including assets like Tumblr, Yahoo Finance and email.
Yahoo purchased a 40 per cent stake in Alibaba in 2005 for $1bn and the majority of the firm's $33bn (£21.8bn) value is attributed to its shareholding in the company.
The move is subject to regulatory approval and could take more than a year to complete.
Earlier this week, the New York Post reported that investors were "running out of patience" with Mayer over the deal, and claimed that shareholders would rather Yahoo's core business was sold rather than spun off into a separate company.
“The better alternative from both a value and timing standpoint is for Yahoo to just sell the core business right now,” a source told the Post, claiming that a sale would lead to a higher valuation in the long-term.