There is no shortage of reports about Yahoo building a YouTube rival. At first the company was believed to be seeking a majority stake in Dailymotion but that deal apparently fell through. Since then it is believed to be working on its own video streaming service that would be backed primarily by user generated content. A new report claims that the site’s launch might have been delayed until the summer due to contract issues.
Yahoo might be looking to hit YouTube where it hurts the most. Rumor has it that the company is going after popular YouTube users and luring them to its as yet unannounced service with promises of better ad rates and a much more generous cut than YouTube’s 45 percent. Ad Age cites people briefed on the company’s plans who say that Yahoo is talking with video producers to premiere the new service this summer.
Not only will Yahoo reportedly allow content creators to set up their channels and host videos, it may also develop a publishing dashboard that will let users distribute the content across a variety of Yahoo properties, including but not limited to its homepage as well as blogging service Tumblr.
On the other hand the YouTube team recently announced a few changes that are bound to appease its content creators. Changes include a mobile app that brings most requested features for them, regular updates from the team as well as a way to be directly funded by fans.
Up till now Yahoo has dropped no hints that its working on a YouTube rival. The company repeatedly says that it won’t comment on speculation or rumors. So lets sit tight and see if it has something to show us this summer.