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    Yahoo pulls plug on video hub as CEO refocuses company

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments3725 Views
    In this Jan. 7, 2014, file photo, Yahoo president and CEO Marissa Mayer speaks during the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)
    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) --

    Yahoo pulled the plug on an online video hub that had once been envisioned as the beleaguered company's answer to Netflix and YouTube.

    The end of the Yahoo Screen is part of a purge being directed by CEO Marissa Mayer with hopes of generating greater profit elsewhere.

    Mayer oversaw an overhaul of Yahoo Screen 16 months ago that came in the form of a new mobile application, thousands of clips from NBC's "Saturday Night Live" and a wide variety of other popular TV shows.

    But Yahoo Screen never attracted the vast audiences that flock to Netflix and YouTube.

    Yahoo is now scattering its video across its digital magazines and other services, such as Yahoo Music.

    "We're constantly reviewing and iterating on our products as we strive to create the best user experience," Yahoo said in a printed statement.

    Mayer has pledged to jettison technology that fails to justify the amount of money that Yahoo has been investing in them.

    Yahoo telegraphed that its video expansion was faltering in October when it disclosed a $42 million charge to account for original shows, such as "Community," that had flopped.

    Mayer is expected to provide more details about her latest plans for reorganization in about three weeks when the Sunnyvale, California, company announces its fourth-quarter results.

    Industry analysts are expecting the steepest decline in Yahoo's revenue, after subtracting ad commissions, since the company lured Mayer away from Google to become its CEO three-and-a-half years ago.

    Shares of Yahoo have fallen by about 35 percent since the end of 2014 as the difficulty of reviving company revenue growth has become evident, and that has increased the pressure on Mayer to take more drastic measures. There have even been calls for Yahoo to sell all of its online operations, but Mayer and the company's board have rebuffed those demands to far.

    By building a compelling video hub, Mayer had hoped to lure advertising away from Google, whose operations include YouTube, and social networking leader Facebook, which also boasts millions of clips shared by its users.

    Tags:Marissa MayerYahoo



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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