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| UPDATED: 2006-06-28 |
 Internet Continues Its TV Beatdown 
By: David Utter 2006-06-28 Kicking and screaming, the forces of broadcast media are being dragged into a future where cooperation instead of cease-and-desist letters becomes the way TV networks handle relationships with websites.  Over the past few months, a strange synergy could be observed taking place with video sharing site YouTube and television networks like GE's (GE) NBC. A video culled from "Saturday Night Live" would appear on YouTube, draw thousands of viewers, and then vanish from the site after C&D letters from NBC lawyers arrived.
It was even thought that NBC marketing posted a number of videos while NBC legal would call for them to be taken down. The uploading of videos like the "Lazy Sunday" rap and Natalie Portman's "Natalie Raps" sent them on the way to becoming viral hits. NBC eventually recognized the importance of Internet demand. With more people adding broadband connections at home to facilitate their control over content, and not the network's, NBC chose to follow the audience and create a "web favorites" collection of videos on its site. YouTube has grown to such heavy usage that NBC has stopped fighting the site and embraced it instead. The two companies announced a strategic partnership where cross-promotional opportunities and a chance to promote the NBC fall lineup have replaced legal threats and acrimony. Part of the new promotion will involve NBC's hit comedy, "The Office," and a contest to create 20-second promos for the show. The prize will be having the promo appear at the end of selected episodes of "The Office." The sudden outpouring of love for YouTube can probably trace its beginnings to reports of advertiser discontent over the "upfront" buying process for TV time. Instead of following tradition and committing plenty of money upfront to networks for commercial time, advertisers have taken a wait-and-see attitude as they angle for some price breaks. Google and other online advertising networks have shown ads can be measurable and quantitatively assessed, instead of the crossed-fingers one size fits all approach of broadcast advertising. Brand marketers have responded positively to this. Yahoo and Microsoft are only too eager to work with powerful brands to develop such campaigns online, with Yahoo having a particular knack for brand advertising. Now that those brands have enjoyed a taste of cost-effective, measurable marketing, the open spigot of ad dollars flowing to networks has started to close. Blame the Internet for that. --- Tags: GE, YouTube, NBC Add to  Del.icio.us |  Digg |  Yahoo! My Web |  Furl
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View All Articles by David Utter About the Author: David Utter is a staff writer for InternetFinancialNews and WebProNews covering technology and business. |
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