Ceding the back end of search to Microsoft was supposed to free up Yahoo to focus on content, with Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Finance, and Yahoo News. But, in recent years, Yahoo's been outdone by AOL, which and by . Yahoo's content sites remain popular, but the company hasn't made any other big moves in the last several years to become a content powerhouse. Its only notable editorial acquisition, Associated Content, has been targeted by Google in the search engine's .

Yahoo's adventures in Web services have also taken a rough turn. Flickr's head of product earlier this year, following . YouTube's founders after Yahoo said it no longer had use for the Web bookmarking service. Yahoo also ventures: Yahoo Buzz, Yahoo Bookmarks, and Yahoo Picks. The company hasn't acquired any other hot Web services to fill the void. Yahoo Mail remains popular, but when was the last time anyone got really excited about email?

Yahoo hasn't been a big player in Web video, but the company has reportedly taken an interest in . For Yahoo, Hulu would be a foot in the door in a fast-growing business, but the site isn't a big money maker, and it relies entirely on the whims of content owners, who are nervous about the possibility of online television replacing cable. Besides, with Amazon, the Dish Network, and Google also reportedly interested in Hulu, there's no guarantee that Yahoo would have the winning bid.