• by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, March 28, 2006

When long-time TV exec Lloyd Braun joined Yahoo in November 2004, many observers took the move as a sign that Yahoo was about to start developing TV-like content.

That the company, run by former WB honcho Terry Semel, set up shop in Santa Monica, contributed to this impression. But, as time passed and Yahoo barely made inroads into original content, industry watchers started to wonder.

Then, several weeks ago, Braun told the media that Yahoo was going to focus on consumer-generated content, as opposed to professionally produced programs. These remarks were immediately interpreted as meaning that Yahoo had thrown in the towel on its Hollywood ambitions.

Not so far, said Scott Moore, vice president of content operations at Yahoo, speaking Monday at the OMMA Hollywood Conference & Expo. "The No. 1 lesson is that it's actually very difficult to manage expectations," said Moore, exasperated by the unending public speculation.

Yahoo has neither abandoned the goal of producing content, nor is it about to start creating fictional shows like "Lost"--developed by Braun when he was at ABC. "The truth is actually down the middle," Moore told the audience.

For now, Yahoo is continuing with its Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone project--sending Sites to report on troubled spots around the world. Yahoo also is continuing with its plan to launch an original reality show developed for the Web.

Beyond that, we'll all have to wait and see.