Has NBC Figured Out Web Video?
New fall ritual: Saturday Night Live does a Sarah Palin sketch starring Tina Fey, and it’s the talk of the Web for the next few days. We’ve seen this movie before, of course. In the past, the clip would air on NBC, but its Web audience would watch almost exclusively on YouTube. Back in December 2005, it was hard to feel sympathetic for NBC execs who complained about “Lazy Sunday” running on Google’s video site instead of theirs, since NBC’s site didn’t have the clip at all. But now, nearly three years later: • NBC.com is pretty good: Decent player, reasonably easy to find what you need, and many clips are embeddable. Viewers get what they want; NBC gets to earn a few extra pennies from showing them an extra ad. • Hulu is very good: Good player, easy to find what you want, and all clips are embeddable. Viewers get what they want, and NBC, along with Fox and Providence Equity Partners, who own the site, gets a few extra pennies. • At least as important: You can’t find the clips on YouTub
