Yahoo shuts down Yahoo Screen

According to a spokeswoman, all of Yahoo’s video content be routed to the company’s various digital magazines, the Tumblr-powered topical sections of the Yahoo site that were 1st introduced in Y 2014.

Yahoo said in a statement that the various videos available on Screen would be “transitioned” to other parts of Yahoo, specifically its digital magazines.

But before fans begin to panic, this isn’t the end of video for Yahoo.

Yahoo Screen launched in Y 2011 and offered up original series, short clips and licensed content. The tech giant has closed the curtains on the Screen hub. CEO Marissa Mayer has faced increased scrutiny from investors over the past year as she has prepped the spinoff of the company’s stake in Alibaba.

Variety first reported the news.

The move may have been great for the show’s fans, but it didn’t budge Yahoo Screen’s bottom line.

Yahoo took a $42 million write down for its original programming business a year ago. Creator Dan Harmon, who once called Yahoo the show’s Daddy Warbucks, told EW in June: “I told Yahoo, ‘I can’t think about writing a movie until I miss Community”.

At its heart, Yahoo Screen was always driven by the need to create more places for video ads to live, and like abortive video divisions at competitors including Microsoft, the group was neither able to out-YouTube YouTube nor eat into traditional TV networks’ audiences.

Now instead of residing in a central repository, premium content is going to be split up into different magazines, which might make things more relevant to users. “I enjoy watching cats on skateboards chasing laser pointers as much as anybody”, he scoffed.