The TV networks are discovering how tricky and perhaps even pointless it is to try to tame the wild frontier of the Internet.
All of the broadcast networks are using online sites to create buzz for their fall shows. But one network learned again last week that the Net plays by its own rules.
The old media company’s first instinct was to circle the wagons – NBC came down hard on YouTube early this year when that popular video- sharing site ran the “Lazy Sunday” video from “Saturday Night Live.” Then, after noticing that the site draws 15 million mostly young (i.e. desirable) visitors a day, NBC decided to get in bed with YouTube.
They struck a deal that gives NBC front-page prominence on the site for promos, includes traditional ads and steers visitors to an NBC-branded page.
This week, the entire pilot for “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,” the NBC drama by Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing”) was posted on YouTube. Not just a clip as NBC had planned. There was the complete pilot of NBC’s hope for a hit, free and commercial-free, in 10-minute chunks, on the web, submitted anonymously.
Surprised NBC executives admitted it was “both good buzz and a copyright problem.”
The pilot of NBC’s “Heroes” similarly made its way to science-fiction fan sites. The pilot for “Friday Night Lights” turned up on BitTorrent.
John Miller, head of marketing for NBC Universal Television Group, said, “either our security is really weak or these shows are really hot.”
Technology has made the idea of “premiere week” particularly quaint.
Network executives are debating how much is good promotion and how much is a case of stolen intellectual property? (The Warner Bros. lawyers are on the case regarding “Studio 60.” NBC says, diplomatically or wishfully, that the folks at YouTube “continue to be cooperative when it comes to enfor-
cing the protection of our copyrighted material.”)
NBC has other avenues for gaining advance buzz: Soon “Heroes” is slated to appear on Yahoo for a week. “Kidnapped” and “Studio 60” will be available via NetFlix. “Friday Night Lights” and “30 Rock” will be on NBC’s firstlook.com later this month. And “20 Good Years” is slated for MSN.
The current “make your own ‘Office’ promo” contest is another instance of a network dipping a toe in the new user-generated content business. Miller is happy to report “hundreds of entries.” If you thought reality TV was low-cost, wait until you see how cheap do-it-yourself content creation is.
When television was young, flogging a new show meant magazine ads, bus and subway placards and on-air promotion. Now it’s a matter of viral video, stealth marketing, online leaks and digital interactivity.
“We do want sampling on these things, but it’s gotten to be so large and so unprotected, if somebody gets it on YouTube, it can be spread around,” said NBC’s Miller.
NBC’s deal with YouTube only runs through the fall series launches. Presumably there will be serious discussions to assess how it went before moving forward. Assume that, if cliffhanger episodes pop up online during the November sweeps, they weren’t approved by NBC.
“We are trying to embrace the technology. This space can be a little like the Wild West,” Miller said. “You can put something out there and not get it back.”
In the grand scheme, the number of people accessing these shows via computer or NetFlix is still relatively small. The bulk of the TV-watching public still gathers on the couch during the second week in September to see what’s new. But this is a time of experimentation for all media, and business models are being shaped by these initial efforts. As traditional networks find their way in the new digital world, the pros and cons of “interactive” stunts, contests and hijinks are being weighed.
They have to go where the buzz is. But how to avoid getting burned?
“We like the idea that (YouTube) is a viral organization. We like that they have 100 million streams a day, we like that they have 15 million unique visitors a day. We have to manage how we work with them,” Miller said.
“I’d much rather be working with them than against them.”
TV critic Joanne Ostrow can be reached at 303-820-1830 or jostrow@denverpost.com.
