Headline Feeds
In a bid to snag a larger share of e-shoppers this holiday season, Web giant Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) expanded its library of e-commerce services Monday with the launch of its ShoppingVision site, which features streaming video content and allows users to purchase related goods through a single interface.
An extension of Yahoo’s existing shopping portal, the new site spotlights product reviews and research and targets broadband users.
In addition to offering video clips, ShoppingVision also includes information and direct links to the merchandise that is being displayed, enabling consumers to make immediate purchases.
Content Partnerships
As part of the launch, Yahoo! said it had secured a content distribution and marketing agreement with cable shopping network ValueVision International.
ValueVision will supply continuous, round-the-clock programming material as well as archived video content, according to Yahoo!. ValueVision will also advertise throughout its general shopping hub and in a selection of the network’s auction sites.
Yahoo! said that it had inked a deal 
with broadcast and Internet site TechTV to provide additional content.
Leaping Into Broadband
Santa Clara, California-based Yahoo! initially entered the broadband arena in March with the opening of its FinanceVision site. Unlike its shopping counterpart, which includes video clips, FinanceVision provides a continuous video feed of financial and market-related content.
In an effort to tap more non-advertising revenue streams, the company is boosting its rich media offerings. Last week, it launched a directory of short Web films and said it was weighing the possibility of charging its users for similar services.
According to the company, Yahoo! directly enabled more than US$3 billion of transactions on its commerce platform during the first nine months of 2000.
Court Ruling Overshadows Launch
Earlier Monday, Yahoo! was hit hard when a French court ruled that the Net powerhouse had 90 days to block French residents from viewing auctions of Nazi memorabilia though its U.S.-based auction site. If the company does not comply with the order, it faces daily fines of 13,000 for each day it exceeds the deadline.
The ruling followed a determination issued by a panel of experts that it would be technologically feasible to bar French users from the controversial auctions. Yahoo! had argued that filtering systems are not wholly effective and maintained that a U.S. company should not be subject to an individual country’s laws.
On a rough day for stocks overall, Yahoo! fell 2 3/8 to 48 7/8.
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