So we should probably assume that the negotiations aren’t going well between Viacom and YouTube.
After first pissing people off by directing YouTube to remove all videos from Comedy Central (among other shows), Viacom backpedaled and said they just wanted the whole episodes removed, but they’d leave little highlight clips up (like the ones that I featured here in a whole section dedicated to Stephen Colbert). Now it appears that YouTube has gone ahead and removed ALL ALL THE GOOD Colbert clips.
Why not just grant YouTube a license for your content? Colbert, don’t even try to say that YouTube sharing of clips from your show cost you billions. I’m pretty sure that the YouTube generation made you billions…or at least a million or two. And now for some you’re a hero (and in some cases WERE a hero).
Now, you and your little friend Stewart are trying to make us feel sorry for the advertisers who pay for your show? Um… we watch the show, see the ads and thus get them their money’s worth. You wouldn’t have advertisers without US. You have the advertisers and popularity because the viral distribution of highlights of your show reached far more people than your puny Comedy Central network ever could.
And just for your foolish antics, Stephen Colbert, you’re on notice!
[UPDATE] So in reviewing the YouTube site, it appears that Viacom/Comedy Central has left over 2,000 clips on the YouTube site…many of them much, much longer than any of the clips I featured here. So what’s up with that? You remove the funny clips and leave us with the dregs?
[UPDATE 2] I’m not the only one who sees the Viacom/Colbert scam. And here, too.
[UPDATE 3] Total truthiness [via Idealog.us]
#1 by Bryan on November 2nd, 2006
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Y’know….this jumps right from a possible valid argument into pure fallacy of logical reasoning. Through paragraph 2 this guy speakso f Viacom backpedalling. True. We all know that Viacom is at the source of the YouTube problems with Comedy Central. Fine. But to then immediately turn and blame Colbert and Stewart themselves? C’mon…
As performers on CC they are part of the Viacom family, employees at the lower level. They have no real say in the distribution of their show. Neither Daily Show nor Colbert Report belong to Stewart and Colbert respectively.
Artists rarely if ever have total distributive control over their paterial and that’s exactly what these shows are, material. In their simplest definition, each is 30 minutes of comic material.
Blame big daddy corporate Viacom all you want, but unless you can produce contracts giving Colbert and Stewart the sole distribution rights for their respective programs…then shut up.