An Unauthorized Fan

My video of the big Million Dollar Winnner on last week's TPIR Million Dollar Spectacular was taken down by YouTube for copyright infringement. I'm sure this comes directly from CBS, which clearly wants viewers to go to its own online video site that streams episodes of TPIR (including the MDS).

I'm not really upset about CBS's actions but it seems to be short-sighted. Does anyone really think that my video represents an alternative means of viewing TPIR that draws viewers away from CBS's own site? Another way of asking the question is that would anyone who is looking to watch TPIR consider my six-minute video to be a substitute for the real thing?

I'm sure some people will be perfectly happy watching Super Bowl highlights on SportsCenter instead of the real thing. I'm sure some people will just chapter skip to the last ten minutes of No Country For Old Men and consider the movie to have been viewed. I'm sure some people tune into TPIR just watch the Showcase and then turn to something else.

But are these really the kinds of viewers that CBS is looking to attract to its site? Are these the viewers that advertisers pay millions of dollars to reach? Does anyone really believe that anyone who only wants to watch the Showcases is going to sit through an entire hour-long episode?

Rather that view these clips as competition, CBS and other media companies should treat them in a similar way as fan sites, which is to say the are a means to promote the show, galvanize the fan base, and generate buzz and discussion. It may even attract new viewers to the show who may stumble upon these cliips and be interested to see more.

Clearly, I'm just a fan of the show and I'm not looking to make any money or gain recognition by sharing my interests. But since CBS does not want me to post videos of TPIR without authorization, I guess that makes me An Unauthorized Fan. But is that the kind of person CBS really wants to go after for copyright infringement?