Although Yahoo continues to tout itself as “the premier digital media company,” the use of the word “premier” is still debatable — especially considering the beleaguered search engine’s upheavals as of late.
Nevertheless, a new partnership with ABC News does help solidify Yahoo’s new strategy. The partnership hinges on a few agreements. First, ABC News will become the top news provider on Yahoo News. Editorial teams from both organizations will collaborate on original coverage to appear on both the Yahoo News and ABC News sites. These teams will co-produce coverage for major news events and will have integrated bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
The new GoodMorningAmerica.com site, which is powered by Yahoo!’s global technology platform, will feature original text and video content generated by ABC News, including a video series launched on Monday named Newsmakers, which will spotlight ABC News anchors Diane Sawyer, George Stephanopoulos, Barbara Walters, Katie Couric, Robin Roberts and others interviewing global leaders and celebrities.
However, ABC News will maintain editorial control over ABCNews.com and GoodMorningAmerica.com, while Yahoo News will maintain editorial control over its own sites.
Yahoo and ABC News assert that the partnership will ensure the delivery of content to more than 100 million U.S. users each month.
Ben Sherwood, president of ABC News, explained in a statement:
This relationship will give ABC News an unrivaled ability to reach across the Web, combining Yahoo!’s vast distribution and cutting-edge technology with our award-winning journalism. For years, we’ve proudly proclaimed that more Americans get their news from ABC News than any other source. Going forward, we will greatly expand this leadership by building a connection with a whole new online audience.
The fruits of the partnership will become evident as early as this afternoon at 2:35pm ET when Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos interviews President Obama, drawing on questions posed by readers of Yahoo! and ABCNews.com, which will be webcast live on Yahoo.com and ABCNews.com.
Related:
