We’ve spoken previously of YouTube, the ‘community’ video site. It now reports that it has been asked by NBC to remove the ‘Lazy Sunday: Chronicles of Narnia’ parody video first shown on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
The video first appeared on SNL on December 17. The media reported high numbers of downloads of the video on YouTube that week. I would speculate that many people learned of YouTube as a result. NBC may have benefitted as well. For example, I showed my kids the YouTube version that week, and they became SNL fans as a result.
Now NBC/SNL is charging for downloads via iTunes.
It is not reported when NBC sent its demand to YouTube.
At first glance, both YouTube and NBC seem to have benefitted by the free sampling.
UPDATE: NY Times reports on Monday that YouTube had approached NBC for a deal and that NBC had sent the demand letter this month. Additionally, the clip is available free now on the NBC site (which doesn’t seem Mac-compatible).
ANOTHER UPDATE: Atrois writes:
‘As with file sharing the right business question isn’t “is someone getting music for free” the right business question is “does this really cause us to, in the net, lose revenue if we adapt our business model to the new reality.” Free songs, free videos, they’re all marketing techniques. Of course, giving out free songs and videos isn’t exactly a new idea, it’s what radio and MTV (when it still played videos) have been doing for quite some time . . .”
THIRD UPDATE: Jason Calcanis: ‘YouTube Is Not A Real Business‘: discussing how video content must make the strike the balance between free stuff and not being available.