Yahoo announced on Wednesday night that it has struck a deal with Broadway Video to bring exclusive Saturday Night Live content to the Internet portal. The wording is a bit tricky in the press release and the official blog post on the matter, but it still breaks down as Yahoo will have a lot of new content coming its way this Sept.
Under the new deal, Yahoo will have exclusive rights to clips from every season of the long running sketch comedy show, which will include select musical performances, behind-the scenes videos and some dress rehearsal clips. It will have full episodes from the current 2012/2013 season under a non-exclusive agreement.
While the word “exclusive” is peppered liberally through out the announcement, this does not mean Yahoo has every aspect of the nearly 40-year-old series. Full episodes from the entire catalog are not included in the deal and will still appear on sites such as Hulu.
Yahoo is definitely expanding its streaming library content which seems to be a popular activity amongst Internet properties as of late. If this move is part of a larger strategy for Yahoo remains to be seen.
Now on Yahoo!, It’s Saturday Night!
Yahoo! Becomes Exclusive Online Home For “Saturday Night Live” Archives
LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Broadway Video Entertainment with NBC Entertainment today announced a partnership to bring the “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”) archives from 1975 to 2013 exclusively to Yahoo!. The partnership, which will be celebrated at Yahoo!’s Digital Content NewFront event on April 29, makes Yahoo! the most comprehensive digital home for “SNL” content.
“Yahoo! will give ‘Saturday Night Live’ a great opportunity to expand its current digital distribution”
The archives, which will be available beginning September 1, 2013 on Yahoo!, will feature exclusive “SNL” content including:
A library of show clips from the 1975/76 – 2012/13 seasons
Select “SNL” musical performances
Making-of and behind-the-scenes clips
A selection of dress rehearsal clips
Yahoo! will also feature current season episodes non-exclusively and has distribution rights for library show clips outside of the U.S. non-exclusively.
“‘Saturday Night Live’ is legendary for launching new talent, providing witty commentary on current events, and delighting fans the world over,” Marissa Mayer, Yahoo! President and CEO, said. “We are thrilled to give Yahoo! users the most comprehensive collection of ‘SNL’ content available on the web, and make Yahoo! a home for current season clips, as well as clips from the entire 38-season archive.”
“Yahoo! will give ‘Saturday Night Live’ a great opportunity to expand its current digital distribution,” said Jack Sullivan, CEO, Broadway Video. “This deal will ensure that ‘SNL’ clips from past and future seasons will be even more accessible to fans across all generations.”
Yahoo! and Broadway Video Entertainment will collaborate on building a digital hub for the “SNL” programming, which will be promoted across Yahoo!’s network. Archived “SNL” content will be removed from other video platforms and available exclusively on the digital hub for one year.
The “SNL” library adds to Yahoo!’s portfolio of premium original comedy programming, which draws in millions of people every day. The partnership highlights Yahoo!’s commitment to premium comedy content and expands the current lineup of critically acclaimed shows including Burning Love, upcoming shows including The Fuzz, Ghost Ghirls and more on Yahoo!.
