[TV] FOM copyright and suchlike.

[Knowlesy]

OK, just had my youtube account deleted.

I have received no explanation, but I assume it is for having F1 footage on my channel.

It doesn't bother me unduly, I broke a site rule and thus should pay the price I guess (the price being the two minutes of my life wasted re-registering with an alternative name). But serious question here. Why do people such as FOM and FIM for the MotoGP get so upset about their series being shown on youtube?

I could understand if people were posting full races, and thus robbing them of subscribers to digital TV services (if they still have them). But mere clips showing great, memorable moments... I'm sorry where is the problem?

Where are they losing out by somebody posting an onboard lap or a great pasing move? Surely they should want people to see this stuff, maybe try and gain new fans?

I know if I was the head of a series I'd be delighted if people showed cool clips of my races. I'd be annoyed if full races and suchlike were put up.

I don't know, I guess I just don't understand it well enough, but it kind of saddens me.

*awaits the usual comparisons to stealing from a shop*

[F.O.F.]

I completely agree,I don't see why they take off clips of crashes or on boards etc... They're like free ads! If anything,most clips are going to make people more likely to watch it on tv.

[blueflagger]

I don't get it either. YouTube ought to be viewed as an opportunity to draw more people into the sport.

Control freaks. All of 'em.

[johnh875]

I see your point Knowlsey, you wonder what they are losing. I suppose if people can see the race highlights so freely, the viewership of FOM's customers - tv stations - will drop. Out of interest last year I did manage to d/l a whole GP that I had missed!

I suppose it is like most laws - if they do not enforce their copyright, then why bother having it? I don't envy their position...

[Hepatic]

its region related, F1 is only on subscriber channels in some countries so they deem it "stealing" because they can't control who watches from where in YT. MotoGP has a web subscription service for a lot of video content, so that one wouldn't surprise me at all. That said, i agree they are cutting their own noses off to spite their face - motorsTV have their own channel on YT and use it to good effect, so not all the TV companies are dumb as FOM/FIM

[redshoes]

There's a number of issues here.

Brand Image - F1/MotoGP/etc want to be know for good racing, not reduced to a series of crash clips.

Media Rights - a large amount of F1's income comes from media and broadcast rights, so the last thing they want is people giving it away for free.

I don't buy the "missed opportunity" argument. That might be true for a minor regional series that gets minimal coverage elsewhere but how many people have actually discovered F1 via a grainy You-Tube clip? Equally the reverse is true, how many people will stop watching F1 if they can't see the same grainy You-Tube clip?

If you think this is only an issue for major professional series, think again. At some UK circuits a club racer with his own on-board camera in his own car doesn't have the right to post a video clip on the web.

[JimW]

Don't take this the wrong way but which bit of copyright breach do you have difficulty understanding? I'm not saying that I think you are an evil person but you should understand where they are coming from.

Also there is the lost audience issue.

I don't have a television and when I have access to one might watch the highlights of a GP. So I might have an incentive to get a TV/watch the channel which provides the coverage.

If I can see the highlights which interest me on YouTube, bang goes a driver for me to give the TV some money or audience number.

Regards

Jim

[Knowlesy]

I am sorry if I have caused offence.

I don't see how any audience is lost by watching an onboard lap from seven years ago that cannot be bought (or probably even viewed) anywhere, but there you go.

[Ian Sowman]

Don't you have to be seen to be enforcing your copyright, or risk losing it? I'm sure I heard that somewhere.

[chillibowl]

Knowlesy point is spot on, the internet thingy grows the sport. just take a look at how other major sports associations handle their copyrighted content and then tell me its impossible for F1 to do it. in many ways F1 is stuck in the 80's (too bad the cars aren’t)

if they got it and didn't want it on youtube, they would just put it on their own website. and they could even charge for it...but ultimately they just dont get it.

they started to put together some highlight clips for this year but still no historic clips, but other than that its horribly out of date and nothing more than a glorified hat shop and mobile service provider.

its totally weak and beyond understanding.

[Adam43]

FOM has been protecting it's copyright and the sport is growing. From that perspective you can't fault their approach. A little exclusivity helps I feel.

I think that copyright is a good thing in this case. It helps protect the quality. They do it to stop people making a profit from their property. In addition they do it to stop people making something weak and pathetic from their property.

However if they aren't going to make something available there is a case for it being out there. However crap video on youtube isn't what I had in mind.

I'm not in an extreme camp on this one, but better the current situation than a free-for-all. IMHO.

[mjstallard]

It's a very "old media" approach to it, isn't it? FOM don't realise that 2 minute clips on Youtube are hardly going to affect DVD sales and if anything help raise the profile of the sport through encouraging discussion. They're failing to realise that they're helping to limit a potential audience to F1 coverage (despite Bernie ensuring that F1 is on terrestrial telly to maximise the number of viewers in the UK).

If they wanted to be smarter about things they could continue to request that clips are removed, but then re-upload the offending clips on their own Youtube channel and get ad revenue. Give them a few years and they'll realise how backwards they're being about the whole thing.

[redshoes]

A 2 minute clip on it's own might not harm DVD sales but what about a 10 minute clip, or 30 minutes, or an hour, or an entire race? Unless FOM are prepared to individually vet every single clip they have no option but to take a blanket approach.

The ad revenue from a Youtube channel would be chicken feed compared to what they are making from conventional TV rights.

[westfieldbend]

i find that clips on youtube are too compressed to be a substite for proper TV footage. Also just steer clear of F1/moto gp if they dont want thier series promoting its up to them...

[Dutton]

I've always thought a forward thinking sport would go out of its way to utilise the likes of YouTube.

The potential gains are great, I would say.

[duke_toaster]

That's the problem with FOM being owned by a self-serving businessman rather than the participants. If FOTA bought out FOM I would genuinely think that the level of common sense would probably double.