News: Negotiations between Viacom and YouTube broke off last year. The two sides had been trying to work out an agreement for YouTube to pay Viacom for all the unauthorized content on YouTube. Viacom is the parent company of such shows as Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Spongebob, and MTV. After the deal broke down, Viacom ordered YouTube to remove over 100,000 unauthorized clips on YouTube. YouTube said it would comply. (More from SF Chronicle)
Analysis: It’s hard to say who’s to blame for the negotiations breaking down. Maybe both sides. YouTube’s future success depends on its ability to convince big media conglomerates like Viacom to license its copyrighted content on YouTube. We’ll see if the two sides come back to the bargaining table.
