It's looking like our hunch about the Yahoo Podcasts closure had some truth to it. The web portal has announced that it will be "streamlining the structure" of its entertainment division in an effort to create a unified direction for its Santa Monica operations. This shakeup is primed to overhaul a number of Yahoo's entertainment offerings including its TV, music, games, OMG, and movies properties.
Although the issue was broached openly on the company blogby Vince Broady, Head of Entertainment and Video, the change in direction is rumored to be on the agenda for tomorrow's closed leadership meeting. But based on Broady's description of the restructure, it seems like the move will be less of a hack and slash job and more of a strategic regrouping for the previously scattered division:
Of course, drafting a master plan and executing it are two very separate endeavors. Since Broady's post doesn't explicitly mention the closing of any of the existing properties, one could assume that Yahoo's true interest lies in getting more mileage out of its current holdings. In addition to the monetary advantages, Broady seems to be right on in his assessment of the managerial advantages of such a move:
In many ways, what Broady describes is the type of direction that shareholders longed for under Semel, so we're curious to see if this first change will be effectively echoed throughout the company. But as we near the close of
Jerry Yang's 100 day revamp, one definitely has to wonder -- could this possibly signify the end of the company's current bout of wanderlust?
