• May 28, 2009

Satish Menon, vice president of the consumer platforms group at Yahoo, overseeing the video infrastructure, software and advertising will leave the company, according to a NewTeeVee report .

Menon's departure would follow the layoffs of 20 to 25 employees on the Yahoo Video team earlier this month, according to the report. He told NewTeeVee that he planned to introduce community features into online education using online social tools, without indicating whether he would start his own company.

"It's unclear why Yahoo has failed at online video, given its tremendous assets. It's also bizarre timing. With web sites everywhere adding video, why is the world's top portal seemingly phasing out video development?" asked NewTeeVee's Liz Gannes.

Yahoo did not respond to a media inquiry Tuesday about Menon leaving Yahoo. But according to a TechCrunch report  Tuesday, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, speaking at the AllThingsD D7 conference in Carlsbad, Calif., suggested video was an area where the company might look to improve its standing via acquisition.

"We are very interested in social, and in video technology," she was quoted as saying. "This is just the beginning. The whole video area is so exciting. Video advertising is growing four times by 2011."

--Mark Walsh