What does Andy Samberg's YouTube hit say about NBC sites?

NBC guards video content pretty jealously. NBC clips posted to YouTube without authorization typically are pulled down fast. But a clip that appeared on the network's stalwart comedy show, Saturday Night Live, is racking up huge viewership on YouTube.

The comedy skit known as "Jizz in My Pants" starring SNL cast member Andy Samberg has recorded nearly 8 million views since being posted on December 6 and is YouTube's most watched video this month. NBC hasn't ordered the clip to be pullled from YouTube. That may seem like a policy shift, but in this case the TV network apparently has no right to do so.

The skit was produced by Samberg and his production company. They own the rights and they uploaded the clip to YouTube. Choosing to promote the clip on YouTube rather than NBC sites such as NBC.com and YouTube has raised some eyebrows.

But Samberg and his business partners are trying to promote the song featured in the skit and have a record deal with Universal Music Group. Samberg likely wants to reach as many consumers as possible. While the SNL skit featuring Tina Fey's impersonation of Gov. Sarah Palin drew an enormous audience to NBC.com and Hulu, there's no arguing that YouTube, which topped 100 million visitors in October, has a much larger following than NBC.com and Hulu combined.

And it's important to note that YouTube is increasingly becoming an important music hub. The major recording companies are negotiating new licensing deals with YouTube. A source at one of the major labels told me this week that the top labels are beginning to see growing revenue from their deals with YouTube.

Sure, in the end Samberg gave a tacit endorsement to YouTube. The site obviously fit his needs. Regardless, it doesn't change one important fact. This is one video. Most of the hot videos Samberg and SNL produce will only be accessible at NBC sites.

[chuchucuhi]

I noticed this last bit that Samberg did was on YouTube after I stopped off at the groups site, www.thelonelyisland.com and was poking around. I can't say I keep up with all his stuff but I think Andy Samberg tends to "get it" in terms of the value of reaching more people than keeping everything under lock and key and only staying loyal to one entity to peddle his media. I think he's more in entertainment for him and those in the group than trying to make as much money as humanly possible.

[assman]

This clip IS on Hulu.com. That's where I first saw it. It was posted on Hulu the day after SNL aired.

The difference is that the Hulu version is what viewers saw on NBC, with audience laughing audibly in the background. On Youtube, it is the video directly produced by the Lonely Island and has no audience audio. The biggest difference is the quality, as Youtube has just recently gone HD, the quality of the clip on Youtube is now much higher than Hulu, which only allows 480p resolution for most broadcast content, vs. 720p and 1080p on Youtube.

Kudos to Google for going HD. Biggest improvement for Youtube since inception.

[4schler]

the lonely island guys have been posting all of their stuff on youtube and other video sites for a few years now... basically since youtube was born, and have been doing that with their original stuff since long before they were ever associated with snl. in fact, their internet videos were what caught the eye of snl execs in the first place, if i'm not mistaken. who wouldn't stick with the platform that made them successful in the first place?

[RomanArzhintar]

If the video appears in HD on YouTube, and not all videos do, that video will look better currently on YouTube HD than on Hulu. Also, the video is less likely to have ads on YouTube, although that is changing. As long as several players compete to serve that video users will benefit. Both Hulu and YT are massive improvements over products available just last year.