- Yahoo (YHOO) is "ramping talks with video producers" ahead of a planned summer launch for a would-be YouTube (NASDAQ:GOOG) rival, AdAge reports.
- Backing up a March re/code report, AdAge's sources state Yahoo is looking to lure top YouTube content creators with a choice of either better ad splits - YouTube normally takes 45% - or a fixed ad rate 50%-100% higher than YouTube's average net rate. Yahoo is also comfortable allowing creators to simultaneously upload to YouTube.
- While some creators are interested, others are said to be lukewarm, given their ad rates are currently well above the YouTube average. Moreover, YouTube recently launched a program (Google Preferred) that allows brand advertisers to buy ads for top creators alone.
- Moreover, creators have reportedly bristled over some of Yahoo's initial demands, such as giving Yahoo a perpetual license to videos shared on Tumblr. One producer: "Anyone who's done a content deal knows that would never fly."
- Yahoo, bent on growing its video ad inventory, has already struck a high-profile deal with Katie Couric and has begun dabbling in original content. More recently, the company was reported to be a near a deal for streaming software/services firm RayV.