Telemundo, the US Spanish-language broadcaster, is closing its Yahoo! Telemundo portal to launch a new site in partnership with Microsoft. The new platform, which will go live on January 1, will operate as a standalone site and distribute its video content on Microsoft's MSN Latino, as well as other international MSN portals.

"After three successful years building Telemundo's digital identity with Yahoo! and evangelising digital media, we are ready for the next step," says Peter Blacker, Telemundo's EVP for digital media and emerging businesses. "We are thrilled to partner with MSN Latino on our new venture tapping into their user base with our video content."

Under the deal, MSN will also supply video technology for the portal. The partnership builds on an existing collaboration between Telemundo's parent, NBCU, and MSN, which co-own news portal MSNBC. Microsoft also owns a minority stake in cable channel MSNBC. Launched in 2005, Yahoo! Telemundo streams 10m videos every month, according to Telemundo data.

The news comes as Yahoo! co-founder, Jerry Yang, announces he will step down as the company's CEO. The exec came under shareholder pressure after rejecting a USD44bn takeover bid from Microsoft last May. Yahoo! has lost 45% of its share value in the past 90 days and currently has a market cap of USD14.7bn. Yang, who will remain in the job until a replacement is found, will retain a seat on the Yahoo! board.