Some of you may have seen a couple of “off color” videos widely circulating on the Internet from the NBC TV show Saturday Night Live (SNL). Here’s the NY Times article (from today) describing the videos.
As you may recall the SNL “Lazy Sunday” videos were a viral phenomenon on YouTube and actually boosted SNL’s ratings. NBC first asked YouTube to pull the material but later did a deal with the site after recognizing the marketing value and that it had exposed millions of users to the material who might not have seen the show.
The two new SNL videos getting attention feature Justin Timberlake (”special treat”) and Natalie Portman (gangsta rap). These have been widely viewed (I received the links earlier this week).
Beyond the pure viral exposure of these segments (and the way they create interest in the show) they spawn numerous fan parodies that extend their life. It’s a fascinating phenomenon. There’s now a complicated feedback loop between the Internet and TV that is, as the NY Times article points out, starting to become part of the production calculation.
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Greg Sterling is the founding principal of Sterling Market Intelligence, a consulting and research firm focused on online consumer and advertiser behavior and the relationship between the Internet and traditional media, with an emphasis on the local marketplace.
