Content as Marketing: How Online Video Helps the Networks

Melissa Lafsky asks “Is Web Video Really Hurting TV?” and finds some intriguing answers:

“…the brevity and accessibility of Web clips can raise awareness of a show, give viewers a taste of its content, and thereby entice more viewers to catch the show when it airs on a network. These findings are contrary to the entire modus operandi with which networks have approached Web video, and could provide an entirely new perspective on the future relationship between the two media — not to mention provide a valuable argument for YouTube in its case against Viacom. After all, if those 100,000 unauthorized clips served to stimulate interest in Viacom programs, who’s to say they caused any damage?”

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