The New York Times asks if Yahoo will progress from directory to portal to interactive studio online.

They have executives from the movie capital of the US and own a chunk of MGM’s former real estate in Santa Monica, so a move to content creation should be a natural one for Yahoo. Little forays into online programming, like IMU, and broadcasting full-length episodes of shows like Supernatural’s debut, have been followed by broader moves.

Yahoo CEO Terry Semel didn’t bring Lloyd Braun in from ABC to show the company how to make two-minute video clips. Mr. Braun certainly didn’t leave his post overseeing Lost to do that either.

Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone, a year in the life of a war journalist traveling to conflict spots around the world, looks more like the kind of programming creation Mr. Semel envisioned in recruiting his new head of media operations.

The Times article on IHT.com describes Mr. Semel’s four pillar strategy:

“First, there is search, of course, to fend off Google, which has become the fastest-growing Internet company around. Next comes community, as he calls the vast growth of content contributed by everyday users and semiprofessionals like bloggers. Third, there is the professionally created content that Braun oversees – made both by Yahoo and other media providers. And last is personalization technology to help users sort through vast choices to find what interests them.”
Online advertising has provided the cash fuel for the effort, and the proliferation of broadband technology provided the roadway. Yahoo plans to drive video to online dominance. The Times contends that’s why the former head of ABC television now reports to the former co-chief of Warner Brothers studios.

For Mr. Braun to make Mr. Semel happy, he has to make Yahoo a compelling content destination, a video one at that. And he has to do it fast. Yahoo faces the creativity and network-building of Google, the deep content vaults of Time Warner/AOL and Disney, and the specter of the world’s number one tech company, Microsoft, which can buy its way into anything.

It’s very much a race. Winner gets the viewers and the ad revenue. Losers will get to make brief exit speeches to shareholders. With any luck, Internet users benefit no matter who wins.

David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.