Yahoo is closing the doors on the Yahoo Publisher Network. The Yahoo Publisher Network was launched in the summer of 2005, and never left beta status.

The YPN lets publishers display ads that are relevant to the content of their site, and earn money based on the clicks, much like Google’s AdSense program. The program will be shutting down at the end of April.

Yahoo is offering the following statement on the matter, which also happens to be very similar to the opening of emails members have reportedly been receiving:

Yahoo! continuously evaluates and prioritizes our products and services, in alignment with business goals and our continued commitment to deliver the best consumer and advertiser experiences. After conducting an extensive review of the Yahoo! Publisher Network beta program, it was determined that the resources that would be required to advance the program to the level expected by our publishers would be better utilized in other areas of Yahoo!’s business.

Yahoo is telling users to switch to Chitika, an ad network that features direct syndication of Yahoo Content Match and sponsored search ads.

"We want to make the transition from Yahoo! Publisher Network as easy as possible," Chitika says on a page it has set up for YPN publishers.

Yahoo says it will send the final payments for YPN publishers by the end of May.