Yahoo’s long-term future may still be uncertain, but the company has today announced a partnership that suggests it’ll be just fine in the short-term. According to an announcement this morning, Yahoo is forming a strategic alliance with ABC News for online news programming designed specifically for the internet.
The partnership launches today with the first episode of a web series based around sit-down interviews with important figures called Newsmakers. The first episode of which will see ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos interview President Obama live from the White House, streamed live at 2:35pm EST on Yahoo.com and ABCNews.com. Other series of original video content are planned as well, including Around the World with Christiane Amanpour and weekly tech and innovation show This Could Be Big.
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The new relationship will also see GoodMorningAmerica.com launch, allowing audiences to participate in conversations about the show as it airs, as well as the integration of ABC News content throughout the Yahoo network.
“This relationship will give ABC News an unrivaled ability to reach across the Web, combining Yahoo’s vast distribution and cutting-edge technology with our award-winning journalism,” according to president of ABC News Ben Sherwood, with Yahoo’s EVP Americas Ross Levinsohn adding that the company’s “deep collaboration with ABC News further strengthens Yahoo! as the No. 1 online news source, greatly enhancing our already robust news content.”
New shared content and concepts will continue to be created through 2012, according to both companies, with the two integrating news bureaus in New York, L.A. and Washington D.C., to co-producing coverage for major stories.
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Graeme McMillan is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @Graemem or on Facebook at Facebook/Graeme.McMillan. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.