Steve Rubel reports the NHL has forbidden YouTube viewers from embedding the league’s videos on other sites. I’m here scratching my head wondering, “why?”
I’m a hockey fan, and grew up near Detroit (aka “Hockeytown“) where hockey is a very big deal. However, Detroit is a unique market, because people there actually care about the NHL. In most other places in the United States, hockey is an extremely niche product, and it’s struggling. People don’t understand the rules, they don’t grow up playing it, and games are difficult to come by on television.
Enter YouTube. Here’s a service that allows passionate fans of the NHL to share their favorite hockey moments on blogs, MySpace pages, messageboards, and other virtual meeting places. They’re saying, “I care so much about this sport I want you to watch it too.” The NHL is essentially hamstringing its most effective spokespeople!
I realize companies are still getting acclimated to this whole “social media” thing. But the “social” part is what makes it special - Otherwise, in this case, it’s just tiny, low resolution video of games that have already occurred. The NHL needs to realize this and enable its fans to act as evangelists for the league. It’s a situation where everyone wins.
UPDATE: Apparently the reports were wrong, and the NHL has not asked YouTube to change its embed policy.
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