Viacom to YouTube: We'll host our own videos, thanks
2/14/2007
Viacom has apparently decided to end its spat with YouTube by taking its proverbial ball (Comedy Central video clips) and going home (its own web sites). Viacom clips can now be embedded in other web pages—just like YouTube clips—but Viacom will be in control of the content.
The two companies have been in negotiations for some time but couldn't come to terms on a licensing deal that would allow Viacom-owned clips to be hosted by YouTube. Viacom then sent YouTube a massive set of 100,000 DMCA takedown notices, and now plans to offer the clips itself. The move affects not just Comedy Central, but all the brands operated by MTV Networks.
Viacom has allowed the embedding of Comedy Central clips for a few months, and the pilot program was apparently successful enough to be deployed further. The company has made no secret of its antipathy toward the YouTube business model, and its desire to be well compensated for any video clips appearing there. Despite the current hostility, Google and Viacom actually did a video deal back in August 2006. Google agreed to distribute ad-supported video clips from MTV Networks through its AdSense network.
"Collaborating with Google gives us a terrific opportunity to take our content and distribute it even more widely on the web in a seamless and targeted way," said Tom Freston, Viacom's CEO, at the time. "This deal fits in perfectly with our strategy to deliver the best content to our audiences—wherever they are. We're very happy to be working with Google, a true innovator in content distribution."
Despite the rhetoric, the fit was not that perfect, and Viacom now believes that it can do a better job by cutting out the middleman and offering its video directly to users. Whether it will work is another question. Fortunately for Viacom, properties like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and MTV programming are hot enough that people will probably view (and embed) them no matter where they're hosted. But YouTube has not so far been willing to offer any sort of filtering technology to content owners who don't sign on the dotted line, so Viacom may find that YouTube remains stuffed with its clips even though it passed on the chance to profit from them.
The result could be a perpetual DMCA takedown blizzard. But now that Viacom is actively promoting clips from its show at its own sites, the company might well consider a lawsuit if its video continues to flood YouTube. After all, Comedy Central clips have long been one of YouTube's most popular items, and Viacom could make the case that YouTube's business model is built on the use of infringing content. If a judge agreed, YouTube's DMCA "safe harbor" protection would dry up, and the S.S. YouTube could find itself stranded on a sand bar.
Viacom's move will be watched closely by other content owners who are still deciding whether they are better off in the wild world of YouTube or on their own. If more companies follow the Viacom model and also began aggressive campaigns against the unauthorized use of their content on YouTube, Google would probably find that its shiny new gem looks a bit tarnished. YouTube could certainly still thrive as a place to share amateur productions, watch music videos, and learn about atheism, but the loss of most copyrighted video content would be a major blow.
