NEWS: TV Execs View YouTube as Friend, Not Foe

News/Social Networks/YouTube/Videos/Andrew Hampp
Found on: adage.com

Here's one group of people you wouldn't expect to be big fans of YouTube: network TV executives. In a panel discussion at the Future of Television Forum at New York University's Stern School of Business, David Poltrack, CBS's chief research officer, said YouTube has yet to do anything to adversely affect his network's programming.

What consumers want
"We're in a position right now where no one wants to take [content off YouTube]," he said. "When you have something the public really wants, the economic value in that is to come up with a way to satisfy the rights holders and serve the consumers."

While iTunes put a legal spin on music piracy, Mr. Poltrack said TV thrives better online if users can still stream content for free from the networks' ad-supported models.

"If they're [consumers] going to steal it, give it to them anyway," he said. "But also make it easier to access and present it better than YouTube or BitTorrent or anywhere else."

With TV moving into iPods and cellphones with varying levels of features, the mobility vs. quality debate is one that is increasingly shaking up the TV business, said David Del Beccaro, president-CEO and founder of Music Choice.