Freemantle Media Will Stop Taking Down American Idol Youtube Clips

Thinking about uploading an American Idol clip, but worried it will be blocked worldwide, or worse, flagged by Youtube for  copyright infringement, adding a dreaded strike to your channel?

Worry no more. FreemantleMedia, the company that produces Idol, will allow your video to stay, while reclaiming it for cash, Variety reports.

FremantleMedia is turning thousands of fan-uploaded YouTube clips of “American Idol” — and dozens of other shows it produces — into cash. In a partnership pairing two corporate cousins, TV production firm FremantleMedia is working with BroadbandTV to identify and manage user-uploaded content on YouTube for more than 200 shows, including “American Idol,” “The Price Is Right,” “America’s Got Talent,” “Baywatch” and “The X Factor.”

FremantleMedia is owned by European entertainment conglomerate RTL Group, which holds a majority stake in BroadbandTV.

Using YouTube’s Content ID system for tracking copyrighted material, FremantleMedia has already claimed ownership of some 500,000 clips, according to Olivier Delfosse, FremantleMedia’s senior VP of digital. Now, with BroadbandTV’s system in conjunction with Content ID, the company expects to find significantly more, and that will expand Fremantle’s advertising inventory on the site. “For us, it’s like flipping a switch to an immediate expansion of our business,” Delfosse said.

Why constantly fight the battle to keep homemade clips off of the air, when Freemantle could be making wads of cash instead? HELLO. Finally catching up.

“When we see a fan of our show who has gone through the hassle of uploading (content from) it, it’s not an indication of them stealing from us – we see it as fan loyalty,” Delfosse said.

DUH! It’s good business! We’re trying to PROMOTE your little show, not rip you off! And these days, when y’all need all the promotion you can get, it’s smart to finally begin WORKING with us bloggers, rather than pissing us off.

 “It doesn’t matter if we upload the official clip or a user does — the value to the advertiser is the same,” Delfosse said.

BINGO.  This has been a long time coming. Congrats Freemantle for finally doing the right thing.

Via Variety

About mj santilli 34830 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!