Yahoo snags exclusive rights to Saturday Night Live's archives starting September 1st (update: clips only)

Yahoo may have failed in its bid to acquire Hulu last year, but CEO Marissa Mayer announced it's snagged rights to show something the streaming site has been known for: Saturday Night Live. The deal with Broadway Video will give Yahoo exclusive online access to archived SNL content from 1975 through 2013 including show clips, "select" musical performances, behind the scenes and dress rehearsal clips. Yahoo will also have non-exclusive access to show current season Saturday Night Live clips in the US and a license to distribute library show clips internationally. Beginning September 1st, those archived clips will be pulled from other internet video platforms (presumably Hulu and Netflix -- update, see below) for one year. The press release (included after the break) indicates Broadway and Yahoo will celebrate the partnership at Yahoo!'s Digital Content NewFront event on the 29th. We'll see if there's more to learn about Yahoo's ever-evolving media strategy then.

Update: The devil is in the details, and it appears that while Yahoo does have exclusive access to the SNL "clips" archive, that is not the same as full episodes. While that may seem arbitrary to the layman, what it means in effect is that later this year you'll still be able to stream full episodes of SNL on other online services -- just not clips.

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Now on Yahoo!, It's Saturday Night!

Yahoo! Becomes Exclusive Online Home For "Saturday Night Live" Archives

LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) and Broadway Video Entertainment with NBC Entertainment today announced a partnership to bring the "Saturday Night Live" ("SNL") archives from 1975 to 2013 exclusively to Yahoo!. The partnership, which will be celebrated at Yahoo!'s Digital Content NewFront event on April 29, makes Yahoo! the most comprehensive digital home for "SNL" content.

"Yahoo! will give 'Saturday Night Live' a great opportunity to expand its current digital distribution"
The archives, which will be available beginning September 1, 2013 on Yahoo!, will feature exclusive "SNL" content including:

A library of show clips from the 1975/76 – 2012/13 seasons
Select "SNL" musical performances
Making-of and behind-the-scenes clips
A selection of dress rehearsal clips
Yahoo! will also feature current season episodes non-exclusively and has distribution rights for library show clips outside of the U.S. non-exclusively.
"'Saturday Night Live' is legendary for launching new talent, providing witty commentary on current events, and delighting fans the world over," Marissa Mayer, Yahoo! President and CEO, said. "We are thrilled to give Yahoo! users the most comprehensive collection of 'SNL' content available on the web, and make Yahoo! a home for current season clips, as well as clips from the entire 38-season archive."

"Yahoo! will give 'Saturday Night Live' a great opportunity to expand its current digital distribution," said Jack Sullivan, CEO, Broadway Video. "This deal will ensure that 'SNL' clips from past and future seasons will be even more accessible to fans across all generations."

Yahoo! and Broadway Video Entertainment will collaborate on building a digital hub for the "SNL" programming, which will be promoted across Yahoo!'s network. Archived "SNL" content will be removed from other video platforms and available exclusively on the digital hub for one year.

The "SNL" library adds to Yahoo!'s portfolio of premium original comedy programming, which draws in millions of people every day. The partnership highlights Yahoo!'s commitment to premium comedy content and expands the current lineup of critically acclaimed shows including Burning Love, upcoming shows including The Fuzz, Ghost Ghirls and more on Yahoo!.