YouTube

Link

Emma Lux
youtube

Source: YouTube, YouTube logo [1]

HISTORY

YouTube is a video streaming company that was launched in May of 2005 [2]. The company is a website that allows people all around the world to watch and share videos. They have sports videos, music videos, gaming videos, live streaming, and so much more [3]. YouTube has been utilized by individuals and by large companies as a platform to distribute content. YouTube currently has more than 1 billion users and 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. Until recently, YouTube made a majority of its money through advertising before and during the videos on the site. In 2006, Google bought YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars [4]. Under the deal, YouTube was able to remain an independently operated entity and a separate brand. The original founders of YouTube were Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim who were all early employees of PayPal [2]. The current CEO of YouTube is Susan Wojcicki, but Chad Hurley, one of the original founders, still serves as an advisor [5]. YouTube has opened up channels of communication and allowed for an easier way to distribute media more directly to the public.

KEY EXECUTIVES

Susan Wojcicki

Source: Susan Wojcicki Twitter, Susan Wojcicki – CEO, YouTube [6]

Source: Robert Kyncl Twitter,

Source: Robert Kyncl Twitter, Robert Kyncl – Chief Business Officer, YouTube [7]

 

Chad_Hurley

Source: Politic365, Chad Hurley – Founder and Advisor, YouTube [8]

FINANCIALS

Source: Behance, Google Logo 2015 [11]

Source: Behance, Google Logo 2015 [11]

As a company, YouTube’s financials have been protected by their parent company, Google. There has been wide speculation about whether YouTube actually makes a profit. In 2014 an anonymous Wall Street Journal source reported YouTube’s revenue for the year at roughly $4 billion and profit at break even [9]. YouTube was a large investment for Google. It has been estimated that it won’t be long before YouTube makes up to 10% of Google’s total revenues [10]. During Google’s Q2 2015 conference call, the new CFO, Ruth Porat, was evasive regarding questions to clarify YouTube’s financials. Porat did not share YouTube’s financials because she felt it could put the company at a competitive disadvantage. Colin Gillis, an analyst for BGC Partners, believes that Google is now in the stages of refining and preparing YouTube’s financial performance so when they do finally reveal those numbers, Wall Street will be pleasantly surprised [9].

YOUTUBE RED

Source: The Wrap, YouTube Red Logo

Source: The Wrap, YouTube Red Logo [13]

On October 28th, 2015 YouTube launched its long-discussed paid subscription service, YouTube Red. The service will cost $9.99 a month and have ad-free versions of YouTube videos. There has been speculation about a service like this coming for a long time because of the financial issues that YouTube is faced with. YouTube has all the factors for success, but reportedly only breaks even with their revenue. This new service will allow subscribers of YouTube Red to save YouTube videos for offline play, listen to videos in the background while browsing other mobile apps and watch all YouTube videos without ads. YouTube stars like PewDiePie, Lilly Singh and the Fine Brothers will be creating videos that are exclusive to this new program. Music is also a large component of YouTube Red.

Source: Connect Socialyte, Collage of YouTube's Top Creators

Source: Connect Socialyte, Collage of YouTube’s Top Creators [14]

The service will be providing access to Google Play Music and a new app called YouTube Music, which offers a personalized playlist based on a starting song or artist, this style is very similar to Pandora. YouTube Red is charging prices very similar to potential competitors like Netflix, Amazon Prime Instant Video and Hulu [12]. YouTube also announced that they would be shutting down their Music Key beta, just a year after launching. Music Key was YouTube’s first attempt at a subscription service and offered users full album streams and offline listening for $7.99 a month. The service also included access to Google Play Music. Music Key was not successful, and never made its way out of beta. YouTube Red is the company’s second attempt to overcome the issues that were evident in Music Key’s model and break through any streaming service barriers [15].

Source: TechCrunch, ESPN Pulling Videos From YouTube due to Red

Source: TechCrunch, ESPN Pulling Videos From YouTube due to Red [16]

YouTube Red contains a large amount of promise to fix YouTube’s financial woes, but there has been controversy over how YouTube has gotten creators to agree to be a part of the service. YouTube has stated that 99% of creators have signed on with the Red deal but has also been accused of giving creators no choice, either getting on board with the service or having their videos removed from the site. ESPN has had the most public battle with YouTube over the service. With rights issues surrounding their content, ESPN had to pull almost all of their videos from YouTube. Eleven of ESPN’s thirteen YouTube Channels were impacted and had their content pulled from the site [16].

YOUTUBE’S MOMENTUM & FUTURE

Even with the issues facing YouTube and the fallout coming from YouTube Red, the company’s future seems bright. YouTube now reaches more 18-49 year olds than any

Source: BN1 Magazine, Vevo Logo 2015

Source: BN1 Magazine, Vevo Logo 2015 [18]

single U.S. cable network and the average YouTube mobile session is 40 minutes. The number of hours people spend watching videos is also up 60%, which the fastest growth YouTube has experienced in 2 years [17]. Ever since YouTube officially became “mainstream” in 2009 with Congress and The Vatican launching their respective YouTube channels, the momentum in pop culture has only increased. YouTube launched Vevo, a music video channel, then announced that movies could be rented from YouTube starting in January 2010. As YouTube gained notoriety projects were launched on the site such as the It Gets Better project and Kony 2012. YouTube has pushed the importance of

Source: It Gets Better Project, It Gets Better Project Logo

Source: It Gets Better Project, It Gets Better Project Logo [19]

original content and been revolutionary in the likes of live-streaming. YouTube was the first company to show a live-stream of the 2012 Olympics. YouTube has pushed the boundaries and the strides can only point to a successful future [2]. YouTube has big plans to stay ahead of everyone else in the field, and to turn their large audience numbers into real, tangible profit i.e. YouTube Red. One of YouTube’s other big projects for the future is to provide YouTube access to anyone, anywhere. No matter what kind of connection, they want YouTube and its content to be streamed everywhere. YouTube has worked very hard to improve their tech. To continue improving it, YouTube has built new codecs, participated in developing new versions of HTML, and

Source: Buzzfeed, YouTube Rainbow Logo Celebrating Marriage Equality

Source: Buzzfeed, YouTube Rainbow Logo Celebrating Marriage Equality [20]

worked narrowly and closely with internet providers to make sure people are getting the best picture possible. These upgrades will never stop for YouTube, because this is what it takes to stay ahead and that has always been one of their biggest priorities. One of YouTube’s other resolutions as it moves to the future is a greater focus on “creators” rather than the one hit viral wonders that helped give YouTube its notoriety. These creators have built large fan bases and are in large part to thank for the increased viewership and subscriptions which is what is making YouTube so successful. These creators are also crucial to make sure that YouTube Red is successful, exclusive content on the service from these creators will only draw more fans to pay for the service [21].

SOURCES

[1] YouTube Logo. YouTube. Retrieved: November 29th 2015.

[2] Dickey, Megan. (February 15th, 2013). The 22 Key Turning Points In The History Of YouTube. Business Insider. Retrieved: December 1st 2015.

[3] YouTube Channels. YouTube. Retrieved: November 29th 2015.

[4] La Monica, Paul. (October 9th 2006). Google to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion. CNN Money. Retrieved: November 29th 2015.

[5] Kioskea. (October 29th 2010). Hurley stepping down as YouTube chief executive. CCM. Retrieved: November 29th 2015.

[6] Susan Wojcicki. Twitter. Retrieved: November 29th 2015.

[7] Robert Kyncl. Twitter. Retrieved: December 1st 2015.

[8] Barnette, E.R. (2015). Chad Hurley. Politic365. Retrieved: November 29th 2015.

[9] Oreskovic, Alexei. (July 16th 2015). How much money does YouTube make? Don’t ask the new CFO. Business Insider. Retrieved: December 1st 2015.

[10] Brugger, Tim. (September 9th 2014). Alright Google, Inc, What’s YouTube Really Worth? The Motley Fool. Retrieved: December 1st 2015.

[11] Google Logo. Google. Retrieved: December 1st 2015.

[12] Luckerson, Victor. (October 21st 2015). You Can Now Pay to Watch YouTube Without Ads. Time. Retrieved: October 25th 2015.

[13] YouTube Red Logo. The Wrap. Retrieved: December 1st 2015.

[14] YouTube Creator Collage. Connect Socialyte. Retrieved: December 1st 2015.

[15] Connolly, Amanda. (October 24th 2015). YouTube’s Music Key beta will end next month, leaving non-US users in the lurch. The Next Web. Retrieved: October 25th 2015.

[16] Perez, Sarah. (October 23rd 2015). YouTube Red Deal Forces ESPN To Pull Its Videos From YouTube. TechCrunch. Retrieved: October 25th 2015.

[17] YouTube Statistics. YouTube. Retrieved: December 1st, 2015. 

[18] Vevo Logo. BN1 Magazine. Retrieved: December 1st, 2015.

[19] It Gets Better Project Logo. It Gets Better. Retrieved: December 1st, 2015.

[20] YouTube Rainbow Logo. BuzzFeed. Retrieved: December 1st, 2015.

[21] Pierce, David. (May 12th 2015). YouTube’s Plans for 10 More Years of Video Domination. Wired. Retrieved: December 1st, 2015.

Spotify

by Helen Lu

[1] Spotify’s Logo

KEY EXECUTIVES

[2] Spotify Founders- Martin Lorentzon & Daniel Ek

[3] Jeff Levick- Chief Business Officer

 

[4] Steve Savoca- Head of Content

 

[5] Ken Parks- Chief Content Officer & Managing Director USA

SPOTIFY OVERVIEW

[6] Spotify’s sleek interface layout for their multi-platform service.

Spotify is a privately-owned, digital music streaming service that provides on-demand access to tracks. It is available on multiple platforms, including computers, mobile, tablets, and home entertainment systems. Originally founded in Sweden in 2006, Spotify launched in the United States in 2011; it is now available in 58 markets. [7]

Spotify offers listeners the free model, “made possible by ads,”  and the premium model for $9.99 monthly, which is ad-free, high-quality, and available offline. [8] With over 20 million songs, over 20,000 tracks added daily, and over 1.5 billion playlists, Spotify has accumulated 10 million active users and a total of 40 million active users. [9]

COMPETITORS

Rdio, Pandora, Rhapsody, Google Play Music, Beats, iTunes Radio, Music Unlimited, and Xbox Music are worthy contenders in this competitive space. Product reviews assess service quality with major factors include song catalog, user interface, support, and features. [10] Each racing for a market share, these top players in the market are making strategic ploys to stay afloat.

On November 12th, Youtube announced their own streaming service, Youtube Music Key for $9.99. It will be interesting to see how it will affect the music industry when it fully hits the market in 2015. [11]

[12] Spotify and The Echo Nest collaboration

In early March 2014, Spotify acquired The Echo Nest, a big data company to enhance the music discovery feature, forcing RdioRhapsody, iHeartRadio, and Vevo to look elsewhere for a discovery algorithm. [13]

THE SPOTIFY STRATEGY

Spotify has successfully targeted college students, establishing a solid audience base and brand loyalty. With personal information confirming their status, Spotify offers students Spotify Premium for only $4.99[13] 

[13] Spotify engages their target audience: college students and 18-24 year-olds.

COLLEGE CASE STUDY

Spotify’s tenacious grasp on college students’ listening is reflected in their recently released research report of the Top 40 Musical Schools in America. The findings are a close study of the musical norms in the schools.

[14] Detailed graphs document music-genre distribution and listening spikes, showing not only what students listen to but also how they listen.

The data that Spotify is able to collect can be utilized for targeted advertising and marketing campaigns today. Moreover, with such a large following of the developing youth, Spotify is not only able to make significant advancements with the invaluable information about  today, but accurate inferences about these soon-to-be adults tomorrow. [13]

#THATSONGWHEN

Spotify launched their #thatsongwhen campaign with advertising agencies Ogilvy & Mather and David to further engage their millennial base. #Thatsongwhen allows users to tie their emotional experiences to their favorite songs, to create, and to tell stories. The customization, personalization, and interactivity of a musical experience attracts and retains a young crowd. [15]

The stories are media clips that are charged with emotion, and of course, music. Don’t Go Chasing Girls is about a man’s early memory of his childhood crush that is easily triggered with TLC’s hit song, Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls. Stories and songs are updated and posted on a live feed.

AD TAKEOVER

Spotify is introducing two new advertising options for eager advertisers:

1. The dubbed Video Takeover, only available on desktops, allows brands to takeover the screen during 15-30 second advertising breaks.

2.The dubbed Sponsor Sessions forces mobile users to view a 15-30 second video on their mobile devices in order to proceed onto 30 minutes of uninterrupted streaming. [16]

McDonald’sUniversal Pictures, and Ford are just some of the major sponsors that have opted into this advertising innovation. [17]

[18] McDonald’s format and utilization of Spotify’s advertising product – Video Takeover.

SPOTIFY PARTNERSHIPS

VODAFONE

Everything is going mobile, and music is no exception. This rapid trend of playing and streaming music from a smartphone is particularly prevalent in Australia. Due to these recent findings, Vodafone Australia has partnered with Spotify to bundle in Spotify Premium for free with their monthly plan. A Spotify Premium subscription generally costs $11.99 Australian dollars each month. The exclusive offers with Spotify vary, and are known as the Red Plans. [19]

[20] Research shows that 1.5 million Australians stream music from their mobile devices.

Vodafone believes that Spotify Premium’s features complement and maximize the use of their faster network speeds, value plans, and expanding 4G network. Both the companies and the listeners are benefitting from this collaboration as the marriage of these digital services follow consumer trends and meets consumer needs. [21]

CARPLAY

Apple Carplay is an a new feature configured in select 2014 vehicles. Spotify is on board for this innovative ride as it has updated and fixed some bugs for this new multimedia system. [22] The music player allows users to access their Spotify accounts using a compatible iPhone.  [23] With a built-in display to play music, Carplay is an exclusive and luxurious market; the Ferrari FF is one of the few select cars with Carplay. Several automobile manufacturers, however, are making an effort to include and support this system in the future.  [24]

[24] Spotify collaborates with Apple Carplay to incorporate music services in the latest car models.

UBER

Uber is a hip taxi service, and Spotify is a hip streaming service. These two successful startups partner up for a new listening experience. Passengers can link their custom playlists to Uber vehicles for a fun ride. Although this new feature has started off in ten cities, it makes a big splash in the car service industry and the music industry. This partnership allows both companies to co-promote their respective brands and to change with the times. The service is for Spotify Premium account holders. [25]

[26] Spotify and Uber modernize the standard cab-ride as they join forces to create a new listening experience.

SPOTIFY CONTROVERSY

Taylor Swift pulled her entire catalogue from Spotify’s music database as she believes that it does not fairly compensate artists. [27] As a popular musician, her bold move and her public statements rejecting the streaming business model has made headlines for weeks. Fans and critics are responding to her decision with distaste as both parties point out that there are other viable services, such as Youtube and SoundCloud, to play her music. [28] While she recently accepted the first-ever Dick Clark Award for Excellence at the 2014 American Music Awards Ceremony, she added another snide comment jabbing at Spotify and streaming services again. [29] Jason Aldean has followed Swift’s footsteps, and pulled his new album Old Boots, New Dirt from Spotify. [30]

Spotify executive, Ek, combats this frenzy and reports that artists that use Spotify to promote their music actually sell more, and that Spotify has returned over $2 billion to music industry today. Top artists like Swift are set to project over $6 million in revenue a year. [31] Despite the financial debate and moral controversy, the Spotify team still hopes for Swift to change her mind. [32]

[33] Taylor Swift is a firm believer in the value of music, and that it should not be free. Swift has pulled her music catalogue from Spotify.

It is unlikely that many artists will join Swift’s banning of the digital streaming business, as it is the digital age.  Reports confirm that streaming services grew 28% in the first half of 2014. [26] Listeners’ habits changed; artists can sink, but digital streaming services will swim.

SPOTIFY: LOOKING AHEAD

 Despite the recent controversies, Spotify has achieved success with their recent collaborations; the student discount and the partnership with Vodafone have led Spotify subscriptions to increase by 42%. [28]  Spotify Family Plan has launched with popular demand and proven financial success with previous discount deals. The plan allows subscribers to add four family members to their account for half the price. [34]

Spotify’s name is globally recognized, and Spotify’s services are well integrated into the new digital age. Its key strategies and partnerships keep it on the bleeding edge of the music industry.

 Sources

1. Spotify’s Logo, Spotifypress.com, RT:11.29.2014

2. Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, RT: 11.29.2014

3. Jeff Levick, RT: 11.29.2014

4. Steve SavocaSpotifypress.com, RT:11.29.2014  

5. Ken Parks, Evolver.fm, RT: 11.29.2014

6. Spotify Interface Layout,  RT: 11.29.2014

7. Spotify Business Information, investing.businessweek.com, RT: 11.29.2014

8. Spotify Official Website, spotify.com/us, RT: 11.29.2014 

9. Spotify Press Information, spotify.com/information, RT: 11.29.2014 

10. “Spotify and competitors play to their musical strengths”, usatoday.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

11. “YouTube Launching Spotify-Style Paid Music Service”, TIME, RT: 11.29.2014

12. Spotify and The Echo Nest Collaboration, RT: 11.29.2014 

13. “Will Spotify’s hat trick help it pull ahead of competition?”, Fortune, RT: 11.29.2014

14. How Students Listen, spotify.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

15. “Spotify Ties Music to Personal Stories in Its New Ads”, adweek.com, RT: 11.29.2014

16. “Spotify Unveils Video Takeover Ad Product for Free Users”telecompaper.com, RT: 11.29.2014

17. “Spotify is bringing video ‘takeover ads’ to its free service”, theverge.com, RT: 11.29.2014

18. Spotify Video Takeover Format, spotify.com, RT: 11.29.2014  

19. “Vodafone offers postpaid customers free Spotify Premium access”, CNET, RT: 11.29.2014

20. “Spotify partners with Vodafone Australia for down under listeners”, rainnews.com, RT: 11.29.2014

21. “Vodafone Australia and Spotify join forces!”, vodafone.com, RT: 11.29.2014

22. “Spotify adds support for Apple’s CarPlay in update to iOS app”, talkingnewmedia.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

23. “Spotify Adds CarPlay Support in Latest iOS Update”, macrumors.com, RT: 11.29.2014

24. “Apple CarPlay comes to Pioneer stereos as Spotify adds support”, engadget.com, RT: 11.29.2014

25. “Tuneup, redefined: You can now Spotify your Uber ride”, CNET, RT: 11.29.2014 

26. Uber and Spotify Partnership, Uber.com, RT: 11.29.2014

27. “Taylor Swift is right about music, wrong about Spotify, says CEO Ek”, CNET, RT: 11.29.2014

28. “Why Taylor Swift Will Lose Her Battle With Spotify”, TIME, RT: 11.29.2014

29. “AMAs: Taylor Swift Continues Anti-Streaming-Service Stance in Dick Clark Award Speech”, hollywoodreporter.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

30. “Jason Aldean Agrees with Taylor Swift, WIll Remove New Album From Spotify”, musictimes.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

31. “$2 Billion and Counting”, spotify.com, RT: 11.29.2014

32. “Here’s Why Taylor Swift Pulled Her Music From Spotify”, TIME, RT: 11.29.2014

33. “Taylor Swift and the Whole Spotify Thing”, uloop.com, RT: 11.29.2014

34. “Spotify launching family plan with cheaper subscriptions for families”, theguardian.com, RT: 11.29.2014

Yahoo

By Sam Ho
Yahoo Logo

Yahoo Logo [1]

701 1st Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Phone: (408) 349-3300

Company Profile

As the world’s largest start up company, Yahoo is a global technology corporation that started as a simple search engine and has grown into a web portal at the global forefront of highly personalized, “daily habit” products and services.  Whether through the Yahoo home page or their own personalized page, affectionately named My Yahoo, 800 million monthly users in 60 countries around the world have access to weather, mail, sports, finance, games, and many more powered through Yahoo services.[2]

Key Executives [3]

Marissa Mayer - CEO, President, and Director [2]

Marissa Mayer, CEO, President, and Director

David Filo - Co-Founder and Chief Yahoo [3]

David Filo, Co-Founder and Chief Yahoo

Ken Goldman - Chief Financial Officer [4]

Ken Goldman, Chief Financial Officer

Kathy Savitt - Chief Marketing Officer [5]

Kathy Savitt, Chief Marketing Officer

History

Founded in 1994 by two Stanford PhD candidates, David Filo and Jerry Yang, Yahoo initially began as a website, titled Jerry and Dave’s Guide to the World Wide Web, that listed David and Jerry’s favorite internet sites. After gaining heavy popularity, the two discovered that their little guide could become a successful business and renamed it. The web directory continued to change in the 1990s and diversified into a web portal to provide eager users with the services of Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Games, and Yahoo! Groups.[4] Adding weather, sports, and finance to the mix, the web portal became the center of daily habits. In 2005, it acquired the popular photo sharing service Flickr and its 1 million loyal and consistent users.[5] In 2013, it continued to expand its reach towards more active online users by buying the famous blogging site, Tumblr, for $1.1 billion.[6] Specializing in search, content, and communication tools, Yahoo is standing its ground at the forefront of technology.

1996 Yahoo Webpage [6]

1996 Yahoo Homepage [7]

2013 Yahoo Homepage [7]

2013 Yahoo Homepage [8]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Financial Snapshot

Publicly traded since 1995, Yahoo‘s stock (YHOO) is currently up 0.08% since its previous

Yahoo Financial Chart [#]

Yahoo Financial Chart [10]

close at $36.38. [9] On April 15th, 2014, the Yahoo! Inc. reported its first quarter 2014 results in accordance with a live stream online. While the company’s stock has performed exceedingly well at the markets over the past two years, its revenues have failed to gain traction.  The GAAP revenue for the quarter was $1.13 million, down 1% from the Q1 2013. The company’s quarterly GAAP net earnings also dropped by 20 percent to $312 million. Net earnings per share for the quarter were $0.29, down 17 percent.

Despite its poor marks compared to its Q1 2013 results, Yahoo made smaller successes in its display and search ad revenues, which make up 12.4% and 14.2% of its value respectively. Compared to the first quarter of 2013, its Q1 2014 GAAP display revenue of $453 million remained consistent because of the 7% increase in Number of Ads Sold. With Paid Clicks increased approximately by 6% and the Price-per-Click increased by about 8%, the 2014 GAAP search revenue of $445 million experienced a successful 5 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2013. [11]

Making Changes

CEO Marissa Mayer [#]

CEO Marissa Mayer at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show [12]

The Comeback Kid: With 13 years of employment at Google, including the title of first female engineer at the company, it was only right for Marissa Mayer to set her sights on Yahoo. Named Yahoo CEO, President, and Director in July 2012, Mayer has been determined to lead Yahoo out of its 3rd place spot and into a place at the forefront of technology.[3] With about two years as evidence, she is well on her way after rolling out a new homepage, redesigning Yahoo Mail and saving Flickr from near death.  As she continues to orchestrate more acquisitions for the company, such as her biggest move yet to buy Tumblr, Marissa Mayer is breaking Yahoo records and making strong steps towards modernizing the pioneer portal.[13]

Yahoo Advertising: Starting in 2014, Yahoo wants to place itself at the center of the online ad ecosystem with its latest creations: Yahoo Advertising and Yahoo Ad Manager. Launching under a new unifying brand, the idea of Yahoo Advertising aims to simplify a fragmented market. Buyers will be able to automatically buy across Yahoo’s various channels, including the Web, video, mobile, and Tumblr, all in a central interface called Yahoo Ad Manager. [12] Tapping into the

Yahoo Gemini - Mobile and Native Ads [#]

Yahoo Gemini – Mobile and Native Ads [14]

ever-growing 430 million mobile Yahoo users, Yahoo Gemini, a function within Yahoo Ad Manager, will be the first of its kind to combine mobile search and native advertising in one accessible solution.[14]  The successful future of this new system is evident in the digital ads within Yahoo’s newly launched digital magazines, Yahoo Food and Yahoo Tech. Instead of a simple box in the corner, the native ads of each site are integrated and authentic, allowing consumers to treat each promoted brand as informative content. Yahoo’s belief that “storytelling aids brand retention” embodies the new shift towards fully integrated marketing and a push towards more successful ad sales. [15]

Yahoo Screen on Roku [#]

Yahoo Screen on Roku [18]

Yahoo Screen: Rivaling competitors such as Hulu, Netflix, and YouTubeYahoo‘s video streaming service, Yahoo Screen, combines over 70 original web shows and a diverse array of content from partners such as Saturday Night Live, The Onion, GQ, ABC News, and Vogue.[16] In mid April 2014, Yahoo and Vevo announced that they will be expanding their partnership through a deal that will bring Vevo’s videos, live concert events, and other original programming to the Yahoo site. [17] In addition to new content, Yahoo Screen has been expanding the source through which its content is viewed. In 2013, the video streaming service launched its own mobile app for Apple iOS devices and soon followed that decision with its launch on the Apple TV. During its first quarter in 2014, Yahoo Screen launched its own channel on another home TV box, called Roku. Providing a new variety of content to eager users and new ways to receive their desired entertainment, Yahoo is slowly pushing its way into online video with much more focus and quality. [16]

The Future of Yahoo

Yahoo Smart TV [22]

Yahoo Smart TV [22]

As Yahoo works to repair and reorganize within its own systems, Marissa Mayer and the company are looking to journey outside of Yahoo‘s own boundaries, finding a place within Television. Yahoo is in talks to acquire News Distribution Network Inc., which could make Local TV news a big part of the online landscape.[19] In addition, Yahoo is rumored to have interest in producing its own TV content in competition with Netflix original programming.[20] Combined with its latest creation, Yahoo Smart TV, Yahoo hopes to bring its sphere of influence to the Televised world.

Yahoo Buys Aviate [23]

Yahoo Buys Aviate [23]

In many ways for the company’s CEO, mobile is the future. Delivering her first keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2014, Mayer started with an exciting announcement that Yahoo had acquired Aviate. With the technology to customize the Android’s smartphone home screen based on personal information, the company is looking towards its future in the mobile industry. While Apple owns the iOS mobile operating system and Google owns Android, Aviate could be Yahoo’s golden ticket. [21]

Sources

[1] Yahoo Logo RT: 19 April 2014

[2] Yahoo Corporate Information RT: 16 April 2014

[3] Yahoo Executive Team RT: 16 April 2014

[4] Silicon Valley Historical Association: Yahoo! Inc. From 2008. RT: 17 April 2014

[5] “Flickr At 10: 1M Photos Shared Per Day, 170% Increase Since Making 1TB Free”. From 10 Feb 2014. RT: 18 April 2014

[6] “Yahoo buys Tumblr, promises to not ‘screw it up'”. From 20 May 2013. RT: 17 April 2014

[7] 1996 Yahoo Homepage Image. RT: 19 April 2014

[8] “Yahoo’s new homepage is a good first step” From 20 Feb 2013. RT: 17 April 2014

[9] YHOO Profile. RT: 19 April 2014

[10] “Yahoo sales sag with mixed results in ads” From 15 April 2014. RT: 18 April 2014

[11] Yahoo Reports First Quarter 2014 Results. RT: 19 April 2014

[12] “Yahoo Reboots Ad Business in Attempt to Own Ad Tech”. From 7 Jan 2014. RT: 18 April 2014

[13] “How CEO Marissa Mayer turned around Yahoo”. From 16 July 2013. RT: 19 April 2014

[14] “Yahoo’s ‘Gemini’ Pairs Native Ads and Mobile Search”. From 19 Feb 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[15] “Reaching Consumers in a Fragmented Entertainment Marketplace”. From 8 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[16] “Yahoo’s Push Into Video”. From 16 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[17] “Yahoo Expands Partnership with Vevo”. From 14 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[18] “New on Roku: Yahoo Screen”. From 24 March 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[19] “Yahoo Could Finally Bring Local TV News to the Internet”. From 2 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[20] “Yahoo’s Venture into TV? Unattractive Option, Good Choice”. From 8 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[21] “Marissa Mayer wants Yahoo to be big in mobile. Meet Aviate”. From 9 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[22] “Yahoo’s Plan to Save or Kill Television”. From 9 Jan 2014. RT: 20 April 2014

[23] “Yahoo acquires Aviate to build context-sensitive Android apps”. From 7 Jan 2014. RT: 20 April 2014