The words splashed across a Yahoo! announcement issued Apr. 24 will ring a bell for many television fans. A cowbell, that is. Now, on Yahoo!, it proclaims, It’s ‘Saturday Night’!
Starting Sept. 1, 2013, the archives of Saturday Night Live—including clips dating from 1975 to the most recent season, musical performances, behind-the-scenes clips, rehearsal clips and new episodes—will all be available streaming on Yahoo! And, with the exception of new episodes, the content will be exclusive to the well-trafficked web portal. Broadway Video Entertainment, Lorne Michael’s production company, will work with Yahoo! to build a special SNL online hub.
Which means no more SNL for Hulu, the current source for lots of comedy clips associated with NBC. (It also means no more NBC.com.) According to the New York Times, the SNL library provided a traffic increase to Hulu when it was first added to the streaming site, but Hulu is currently focusing on other types of video, including original content. The terms of the deal, which is for just one year, were not announced, but the Times also speculates that 12 months of exclusive access to the archive is worth more than $10 million.
In a blog post, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer said she’s such a fan of SNL that she can’t pick her favorite clip—but she’ll soon have plenty of chances to rewatch and make up her mind.
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But the Yahoo! announcement wasn’t the only reason Saturday Night Live is making headlines this morning. Cast member Kate McKinnon appeared on Ellen yesterday to show off her impersonation of the talk-show host, and the results were…well, see for yourself.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRKB4OnLmdg]
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