Yahoo Goes to the Video for Wall Street Call

CEO Marissa Mayer and CFO Ken Goldman livestream Yahoo's Q2 earnings call, talking video potential and Tumblr independence

The day before her anniversary as Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer hosted an unconventional second-quarter earnings call — a nightly news-style webcast with CFO Ken Goldman as co-anchor. Though Mayer and especially Goldman weren't exactly polished teleprompter-readers, they got the message through: Yahoo loves video.

Also read: Yahoo Q2 Earnings Rise While Revenue Disappoints

Yahoo's latest earnings were up compared to the comparable quarter last year, though its revenue was down (as was the company's stock following the release). Mayer said the company was looking forward to building a "terrific platform" for video content, the majority of which would come from partners and user-generated content. A minority, she said, would be original series like "Burning Love." Yahoo will also have the exclusive rights to the entire archive of "SNL," beginning Sept 1.

Also read: Yahoo Promises Not to Screw Up Tumblr

Mayer also talked up the potential revenue opportunities through streaming ads and mobile devices, which Mayer said was another strong area of traffic growth.

The CEO also addressed Yahoo's big Tumblr purchase, reiterating that it will "continue to operate independently" and is not expected to provide any meaningful revenue this year. Mayer nonetheless enthused about its "embed advertising opportunities" and its role as a source of user-generated content.

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