Yahoo! Australia(formerlyYahoo7between 2006 and 2018) is the Australian subsidiary of global internet companyYahoo!Originally a 50/50 joint venture between Yahoo! andSeven West Media,it has been a 100% subsidiary ofVerizon Mediasince March 2018. Yahoo! is aweb portal,providing email, online news and lifestyle content, as well as weather, travel and retail comparison services.
 | |
Type of site | Internet portal |
|---|---|
| Owner | Yahoo |
| URL | au |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 1 September 1997 (as Yahoo! Australia) |
| Current status | Active |
History
editOrigins
editYahoo!'s services originally came to Australia in 1997 with Yahoo! Australia launching on 1 September that year.[1]
Seven Media Groupfoundedi7in September 2000 as their online service.[2]In October 2001, Seven partnered with internet service providerAOLand established a joint venture calledAOL7in an attempt to boost the i7 platform. However, the partnership was unsuccessful with AOL reporting its biggest quarterly loss in U.S. history in April 2002,[3]and Seven and AOL later selling the venture toPrimus Telecommunicationsin February 2004.[4]i7 was replaced by Seven's new website,Seven.au,soon afterwards.
Yahoo7
editYahoo7was founded in January 2006 as a cross-media entity which would expand the content distribution networks of both internet-centric Yahoo and broadcast corporation Seven Media Group (nowSeven West Media). Yahoo7's logo incorporates Yahoo! branding with Seven West Media's red "7". Yahoo7 replaced Yahoo!'s Australian and New Zealand websites which had been in operation since September 1997,[1]taking on the majority of Seven's online operations in the process. Ryan Stokes, current chairman of Seven'sPacific Magazinesdivision, said in a media release that the Yahoo7 entity would provide a "leading platform to engage the online audiences with the best global products and locally relevant media content for their connected lives".[5]
In December 2006, Yahoo7 expanded its presence inNew Zealandby partnering withTelecom New Zealandto establishYahoo!Xtra.The venture was rebranded as Yahoo! New Zealand in April 2011 after Telecom sold its 49% share back to Yahoo7.
In recent years, Yahoo7 has made a series of high-profile online acquisitions to supplement its core search and marketing businesses. The company purchased Australian sports tipping site OzTips in mid-2010[6]and acquired Australian group buying siteSpreetsfor $40m in early 2011.[7]Spreets saw its membership increase by 140 per cent to 1.18m since the acquisition.[8]
In March 2018, Seven West Media sold its 50% stake in Yahoo7 toOath.This is despite earlier reports where Oath would sell their stake. By this time, Seven was in the process of uncoupling its services from Yahoo7, through the establishment of7plusreplacing Plus 7, 7NEWS.au becoming the home forSeven News,and their travel website:7Travel.[9]
Products and services
editOnline content
editYahoo! derives its content from a variety of news and online media sites, as well as third-party content. The company runs a number of online sections which collate and augment content from various media outlets. Yahoo! also publishes an increasing volume of online-only content particularly lifestyle journalism andrich mediapublished through the lifestyle section.
Plus7
editIn January 2010, Yahoo! launchedPlus7,an onlinecatch-up portalfor viewers to stream select TV shows with locked commercials andSeven Newsupdates for a limited period of time after airing.[10]The free service allowed users to watch a range of video content on demand, full length episodes from Channel Seven,7mateand other content partners.
Web
editYahoo! also hosts a localised version of its Yahoo! communication and search as well as othervertical searchservices such asYahoo Answers.
Logo
edit
From its creation in 2006 until late 2014, Yahoo7 used a logo identical to the common red logo of the time, with the addition of theSeven Networklogo and an identical red colouring. This logo was replaced with the updated Yahoo! logo introduced to theUnited Statesin 2013, but included the Seven Network logo.
Notes and references
edit- ^ab"Press Release: Now Australia And New Zealand Can Yahoo! Too".Yahoo! Inc. 1 September 1997. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008.Retrieved9 September2016.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^"Seven unveils Internet portal".Illawarra Mercury. 12 September 2000.Retrieved8 May2016.
- ^"Seven partner AOL blames Net for huge loss".The Sydney Morning Herald.26 April 2002.Retrieved8 May2016.
- ^"Seven out of Internet business".Illawarra Mercury. 12 February 2004.Retrieved8 May2016.
- ^"Media Release: Yahoo!7 redefines Australian media landscape"(PDF).Yahoo7 Press Room. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 4 March 2016.Retrieved18 January2012.
- ^"Yahoo!7 acquires OzTips".mUmbrella.
- ^Chirgwin, Richard (20 January 2011)."Yahoo7 buys Spreets, bubble inflates".The Register.Retrieved7 June2007.
- ^"Seven West Media: Annual Report"(PDF).July 2011. p. 19. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 25 November 2011.Retrieved19 January2012.
- ^Duke, Jennifer (27 March 2018)."Seven sells its 50 per cent stake in Yahoo7".The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^"Seven launches online catch up:Plus7;".TV Tonight. 7 March 2010.Retrieved10 March2015.
