Report: Fox orders YouTube to pull Abdul clips
Cory Bergman January 24th, 2007
A new development in the continuing saga of Paula Abdul’s intoxicated appearance on KCPQ-TV’s morning show earlier this month here in Seattle. RedHerring reports that Fox ordered YouTube to remove the clips, although a quick breeze through YouTube reveals plenty of the clips still up and running — one has over 2 million views. I have to ask, can Fox order the removal of clips it doesn’t technically own? KCPQ is a Fox affiliate that’s owned by Tribune, not Fox Broadcasting. I imagine Fox would argue that it owns the satellite interview portion of the video. And that’s probably the same argument it used to ask KCPQ to pull the clip off its website shortly after it aired (KCPQ complied for few days). “What Fox runs the risk of is using copyright law as a form of censorship,” said Van Baker, an analyst at Gartner Media Service, of Fox’s order to YouTube. (Full disclosure: I work for KING-TV, a competitor to KCPQ-TV.)
3 Comments Add your own
1. Rob | January 24th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
So let me get this straight. These clips showing excerpts from Good Day LA, Q13 and all points east have been posted for a week, millions of people have already seen and shared the clips and NOW FOX wants to ’shut the barn door’ ???
Waiting a week to do damage / spin control may have worked in the golden age of the Pony Express and the telegraph, but when people can share content on the internet with others halfway across the world in near real-time a week is a lifetime.
2. thebaghdadchannel | January 24th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
and in related news…
the ghost of saddam is rumored to have ordered you tube to remove any and all clips of his demise.
he is planning a tell-all documentary called: Gallows Gone Wild!
wouldn’t want to spoil the plot, ya’know?
3. Steve Bryant | January 24th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Fox subpoenaed YouTube today over clips of 24 and The Simpsons, too. See googlewatch dot eweek dot com.
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