The recent Youtube exposure of Britain’s Got Talent finalist Susan Boyle has shown just how viral a video can go online, but according to an article on netimperative.com, the production company behind Britain’s Got Talent has little to show for it.
According to an article published on the 29th of May on boston.com, the majority of the Youtube hits received by videos of Boyle were unofficial ‘pirate’ uploads by fans. None of the videos carried any advertising.
FremantleMedia produces the show along with SyCo Tv and Simco Ltd. Before the Boyle phenemenon appeared, the companies reportedly tried and failed to come to an agreement with YouTube (which is owned by Google). FremantleMedia was said to be interested in having ads roll before a video, while YouTube favoured banner ads and ads that appear at the bottom of a video.
It might be argued that “Britain’s Got Talent” and its producers opted to use YouTube primarily as a promotional tool for the TV show.
This decision may have minimised the potential online ad revenue to be generated from a huge international audience. According to estimates by the Times of London based on online ad rates, the first Boyle video could have earned close to $2 million.
Eliot Van Buskirk, a writer for Wired.com thinks a unique opportunity may have been missed.
“This video of Susan Boyle is quickly becoming the most viewed video of all-time — and nobody’s making money. It’s been sort of a growing pains stage of ad-supported media.”