Ah, some things never change -- the best story is always about conflict, so easy the story almost writes itself, as it does it does in this story looking at old and new media. In several hundred words, it paints the picture of "old" media, mad as hell, starting to fire back at the GooTubes and iTunes of the world. It makes for good copy, and has the added benefit of being at least partially true -- media companies are increasingly worried about the loss or potential loss of revenue for not protecting the media going online, esp. to YouTube and Google.
"[Old media] is being a bit more aggressive in asserting their rights," said Forrester Research entertainment analyst Josh Bernoff.
No kidding, Josh. And I'm not sure I buy into those who make comparisons between the way the music companies blew the digital music revolution and what is happening to video - in the p2p area, there was no revenue and no real middleman. Here, there is -- YouTube (and parent Google) have the potential to make significant dollars off the creative content of others -- this is where the battle is. And this note:
So far, it appears as if old media's hostile posture has only served to dampen buzz, not traffic. The YouTube community reacted swiftly after Viacom pulled its content, with users posting video pleas to boycott the company. According to Internet tracker Hitwise, YouTube's audience actually grew by 7 percent the week after Viacom demanded the site remove its pirated content.
Is just crazy -- I'm sure the traffic did go up, controversy drives traffic, but I'd bet folks looking for a comedy central hit will soon be looking at the comedy central site -- and there go the numbers.