Monetising talent in the creative industries:  ITV misses out as Susan Boyle conquers web

Valerie | 28 Apr 2009, 11:28

The Guardian reports that ITV has missed out on sharing a million-pound windfall from clips of Britain’s Got Talent singing sensation Susan Boyle uploaded onto video website YouTube.

The video is set to become the most popular in the history of YouTube, amassing nearly 100 million views in its first nine days, yet despite the obvious commercial benefits, none of the relevant parties – which includes ITV, Simon Cowell’s company Syco or the show’s producers, Tallkback Thames - have been able to cash in. Instead, negotiations are reported to be still ongoing over two weeks after Boyle’s performance, with estimates of the cash lost from the lack of advertising ranging from half a million pounds to £1.5 million.

The news of ITV’s legal stalemate with Google, which owns YouTube has led to criticism of the broadcaster for not exploiting revenue generating opportunities at a time of immense challenges for the company following the departure of its executive chairman and amidst a plunge in advertising income – as reported by c&binet last week.  In addition it has added to growing concern about the future of content monetisation models - a far reaching debate which has centred recently on the dispute between YouTube and the British music industry over licensing fees.

Freemantle Media, which owns the digital distribution rights for Britain’s Got Talent outside the UK has taken the initiative and set up an official YouTube Britain’s Got Talent channel on the site, which will earn proceeds from future clips shown around the world but outside the UK.

As The Times argues, there is a small window to capitalise on such opportunities before it is relegated to the annals of history:

“... I don’t agree that content like Susan Boyle is unique. She is amazing but in a few weeks another viral video hit will replace her on YouTube. She won’t be a cash-dispenser for ever.”