Yahoo has entered the online video market with the release of two new original comedy series: Other Space and Sin City Saints, as well as a channel which will stream live concerts. The content will be available to viewers via the Yahoo website and mobile app as well as on Apple TV and Roku devices.
American filmmaker Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) will direct Other Space, which is a modern space adventure series. Executive Producer Mike Tollin (What I Like About You) and director Bryan Gordon (The Office) will produce Sin City Saints, which follows the journey of a Las Vegas pro basketball expansion team.
California-based concert promoter, Live Nation, will partner with Yahoo to stream one live concert online every day.
Yahoo does not plan on charging viewers to watch the shows; however it is hoping to capitalise on additional advertising revenues generated from the platform.
The move towards producing television-style original content is a trend which has already been set in motion by a number of industry players, including Microsoft, Amazon.com and Hulu.com, that seek to reach part of a growing audience accessing videos online.
Kathy Savitt, Yahoo’s chief marketing officer concluded, “Our goal is to not only enable the future but also to help invent it.’
