In April, the media-sharing site Bolt removed 140 video clips from NBC shows after receiving a stern letter from the network's lawyers.
However, as the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) observed, "Even as NBC was playing hardball with Bolt, it was considering using the site and others like it as a marketing partner. NBC has had talks with some of these sites -- the biggest of which is YouTube -- about an arrangement in which the network would give the sites sneak peeks of new shows."
The article also noted that NBC "felt that the
clip [of popular Saturday Night Live skit 'Lazy Sunday'] generated more attention for sites such as Bolt and YouTube rather than the show -- or the network's fledgling ad-supported NBC.com, where the video also was available. 'These viral sites are interesting to us in instances before a show becomes an asset and we are trying to expose it to people,' says John Miller, NBC's chief marketing officer. 'Once something becomes a hit it's a different story. Our interest here is generating revenue for
ourselves.'"
That's a fair point. Still, I think there's something schizophrenic and just plain inefficient about encouraging viral video on some cases while slapping it down in others.
I'd suggest that mainstream media companies might have more to gain by making and offering ready-made, shareable audio/video clips of highlights of their content (even the hits) as soon as a show airs, or maybe even before. Mention as the show airs (maybe via scrolling text or a special announcement) that these clips are available. Make it easy for people to download and share those clips.
Include in each clip a simple, short URL where people can view the complete content on your site. That way you get to leverage the traffic to your site (or streaming media from your site) for the benefit.
People just want easy access to great content. Why not leverage the enthusiasm represented by viral video? I think squashing that enthusiasm represents a wasted opportunity to media companies.
