NBC Living in Pirate-Free Dream World

I just don’t even know what to say about these comments (via):

NBC Universal general counsel Rick Cotton says that the threat of Internet video piracy and illegal video sharing is now “under control,” thanks to enforcement action and new technology for tracking copyrighted material.

“We’ve gone from a situation in video sharing where it was totally out of control to where, from a rights perspective, it’s under control,” said Cotton. He attributed the gains to the threat of enforcement action as well as the cooperation of video sites like YouTube Inc. , which have installed copyrighted content recognition software.

In what way does he feel that things are “under control”?  “Heroes” is illegally pirated over 5 MILLION times per episode. Don’t want the hassle of waiting for a bittorrent to download, try any one of the endless sites streaming the show without any official clearance (yes, surfthechannel.com I am looking you…and you megavideo.com… and you ovguide.com…).

The idea that stopping YouTube from hosting clips is somehow stopping pirating is just silly.  The only way NBC, or any other major media player, will stop piracy is to find a way to offer their content in a manner that rivals the ease and affordibilty of pirated fare.

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Starburst Helps Bloggers Sell Out

Starbursts has put together a multi-tiered web marketing plan.  In addition to a redesigned website (ho-hum) and a YouTube channel nobody seems to be watching (top-viewed spot has less than 1,000 views), the candy-makers have decided to buy themselves some bloggers:

“The candy company has also partnered with video bloggers David Choi, DavidJr, Katers17 and Rhett & Link.

“We have engaged a series of leading bloggers who have established relationships with the millennials target that we pursuing,” said John McCarus, VP and group director of brand content at Digitas/The Third Act.

“What we found out about them is that the way they fit in is by standing out,” Stanley said of the millennials demographic. “They want to share excessively themselves and this is fueled by technology,” he added.

The video bloggers communicate what the Starburst brand stands for in their own styles, McCarus explained. For example, Katers17 created a video talking about her “juiciest” moment, which consisted of a messy tumble into a strawberry patch. “Through all those creative interpretations we’re going to be communicating the whole value and power of sharing across the Web,” he added.” (via)

Gotta hand it to Starbursts.  Makes a lot more sense to use existing voices to shill for them than to try and develop their own original sales force.

Doesn’t seem like any of the bloggers are worried about reader blow-back against taking money for sponsored posts.

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