In a case that's dumbfounding most everyone in the world of online marketing today, lawyers acting on behalf of NBC have forced internet video site YouTube to remove clips of the Saturday Night Live skit "Lazy Sunday: The Chronicles of Narnia" from their video library. NBC owns the copyright for the video, so NBC's action is understandable from a legal standpoint, as noted in YouTube's blog. The thing that's odd is that the viral marketing buzz surrounding the video has easily served as the biggest boost to SNL's popularity in years. The satirical gangsta rap video became the "must download" meme of the moment at the beginning of January.
We first reported on YouTube back in December when they launched, and it's safe to say that "Lazy Sunday" provided YouTube with a substantial amount of buzz in January. You can read statements from both sides as well as commentary from other media players at TechDirt and in Anne Broache's article at CNet.
I feel like this is simply a case of NBC not "getting" the web. It's a totally different advertising paradigm on the web, and there are millions of viewers out there ready to soak up good content. If you provide something that resonates with the public, why take it away from them? At this point, NBC is only doing harm to themselves by restricting access to one of their most popular pieces of content. The "Lazy Sunday" video is still available on Google Video and on NBC's official SNL site, where a link to view it for free appears on the front page. A downloadable version is available for $1.99 at the iTunes Music Store.
