Is Tumblr about to turn to video?

Yahoo is reportedly ready to turn the social media network into a fully fledged YouTube competitor.

YouTube is the world's largest video sharing platform and one of the world's most popular online destinations with 1 billion active monthly users and counting.

Back in May, Ad Age reported that Yahoo was in the advanced stages of developing a competitor to the site that would offer online video stars better financial terms and support and, until now, it was presumed that the company would simply convert its existing video site, Screen.

However, Business Insider claims that Yahoo is instead eyeing Tumblr, the social media site it acquired for $1 billion back in 2013 (and that until now it has left alone to do its own thing), as the place where these videos will start appearing.

The logic behind the decision, according to sources that briefed the publication, is that Tumblr already has a strong user base and appeal among the younger generation, and it is focused on being social, it is community driven and reciprocal. It would be just as easy to follow a Tumblr video channel as it is already to follow a blog or to share something.

Yahoo's YouTube competitor was expected to have launched before the end of the summer but momentum appears to have slowed. A number of YouTube stars that had been prepared to jump ship for the promise of better advertising revenues are now having second thoughts since YouTube overhauled how it works with its top talent.