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YouTube vs. Viacom The Battle Explained

2010-06-04 · explainer · Hank · 3:58 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube · mode: News analysis · tags: timely hook, song or performance, community lore

Hank, voicing both YouTube and Viacom, argues that Viacom's lawsuit is hypocritical (Viacom uploads its own clips and its Spike.com monetizes independent creators' videos) and is really an old media company resisting change that costs it money.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Bigger poops in more important Nintendos: BP, Israel and Palestine, Viacom vs YouTube; Hank plays both parties

  • ★★ Hank says that beyond the 'poopy Nintendo' case there are bigger messes (BP in the Gulf, Israel and Palestine) and, closer to home on YouTube, Viacom's attack on YouTube is a very big deal. (playful) — 00:00:01 · YouTube

00:00:28 — Viacom's two demands; compensation: one billion dollars vs $2 per thousand views

  • ★★★ Hank, voicing Viacom, sets out its two demands of YouTube: compensation for views of illegally uploaded videos, and manual approval of every video put on the site. (playful) — 00:00:37 · YouTube
  • ★★ In the sketch Viacom wants one billion dollars; YouTube counters with $2 per thousand views on illegally uploaded content, which it says is more than anyone else gets. (playful) — 00:01:04 · YouTube

00:01:23 — Most clips are legitimate; Content ID; Steve Chen's email; Viacom's disguised uploads of its own clips

  • ★★★ Hank, voicing YouTube, says the vast majority of YouTube clips are uploaded legitimately by their owners, from a guy in his living room to big media companies like Viacom. (playful) — 00:01:23 · YouTube
  • ★★ When Viacom recalls YouTube as all Daily Show and Family Guy clips, YouTube answers that was 2007; since then its content identification system has all but eradicated illegal uploads. (playful) — 00:01:34 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank, voicing Viacom, reads an email from YouTube co-founder Steve Chen: removing potential copyright infringements would cut traffic and virality to maybe 20%; YouTube calls it out of context. (playful, hedged) — 00:01:59 · YouTube
  • ★★★ Hank, voicing YouTube, says Viacom has repeatedly put its own clips on YouTube while disguising that it uploaded them, so YouTube cannot know which videos Viacom wants online. (playful) — 00:02:15 · YouTube

00:02:35 — Viacom tried to buy YouTube; Spike.com monetizes independent creators' videos; stealing from those who can't afford a lawyer

  • ★★ YouTube (Hank) asks why, if YouTube is so dirty, Viacom unsuccessfully tried to buy it; Viacom says that is irrelevant to its lawsuit. (playful) — 00:02:35 · YouTube
  • ★★★ Hank, voicing YouTube, says Viacom-owned Spike.com routinely monetizes independent creators' videos with 30-second pre-rolls without the owners' permission. (playful) — 00:02:45 · YouTube

  • ★★★ When Viacom says those creators are welcome to sue, Hank's YouTube concludes that for Viacom it is OK to steal from someone who can't afford a lawyer. (playful) — 00:02:55 · YouTube

    “it's OK to steal from someone if they can't afford a lawyer”

  • ★★ YouTube (Hank) calls independent creators the backbone of YouTube; Viacom calls them a sideshow to illegal copyrighted content, which YouTube calls infuriating and factually inaccurate. (playful) — 00:03:04 · YouTube

00:03:20 — Why YouTube grows; the crux: an old media company that will make less money; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank, voicing YouTube, says YouTube keeps growing because users, independent creators and major media companies upload great content people want to watch. (playful) — 00:03:20 · YouTube
  • ★★★ The crux, in Hank's telling: Viacom, an old media company, can't handle a change that means it will make less money; he asks it to take its poop out of YouTube's Nintendo. (playful) — 00:03:37 · YouTube

In the description and comments

  • ★★ In his description Hank says Viacom's demand that YouTube manually approve every video would destroy YouTube. — video description · YouTube
  • ★★★ Hank's own view (description): YouTube should pay Viacom some reparations based on the views of Viacom-owned content. (hedged) — video description · YouTube
  • ★★ In his description Hank concedes that YouTube knew copyrighted clips were being uploaded. — video description · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank says YouTube should keep developing its Content ID system, which he says has proved better at identifying copyrighted material than manual identification. — video description · YouTube
  • ★★★ Hank says Viacom should drop the suit and settle out of court for something like $3 per thousand views of copyrighted clips. — video description · YouTube

Humor (significant)

  • Extending John's poopy-Nintendo case to world affairs, Hank names a bigger poop. — 00:00:11

    “Obviously, BP is putting poop into the gulf of mexico's nintendo.”

  • Offered $2 per thousand views, 'more than anyone else gets', Viacom thinks it over. — 00:01:18

    “how about ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!!”

  • Viacom insists YouTube was all Daily Show and Family Guy clips the last time it looked. — 00:01:39

    “was that, was that 2007?”

  • Pressed on why YouTube keeps growing, Viacom pleads that it is an old media company that can't handle change. — 00:03:42

    “This is the kind of change that means we're gonna make less money!”

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: Spike.com · Viacom · Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc. · YouTube

Also: People: Steve Chen

Works: Family Guy · The Daily Show

Organizations: BP

Concepts: copyright

Places: Gulf of Mexico · Israel · Palestine

Products: Content ID · Nintendo Entertainment System

Also centred on Spike.com: Viacom PWNED on Piracy · Should We Sue Viacom?

Also centred on Viacom: Viacom PWNED on Piracy · Should We Sue Viacom? · Mmmm....PARTS

Also centred on Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc.: Viacom PWNED on Piracy · Should We Sue Viacom? · GOOOOOOOL!!!!

Replies to

Later videos replying to this one

Part of an exchange of 5 videos, 2010-06-02 – 2010-06-11.