Hasbro cracking down

[Dessa]

You're all forgetting that Hasbro is co-owner and co-founder of the Hub. Toy sales are their base, but they've sunk money into the Hub and they don't want to see it fail. And unless they have an agreement to share toy profits, their partner, Discovery Communications, gets nothing from toy sales. This puts pressure on Hasbro to kill net showings.

Frankly, I think Hasbro is happy for the attention right now, but if/when this thing reaches critical mass, they'll squelch YouTube showings in ten seconds flat.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Well, maybe Hasbro (and The Hub as well) see the YouTube videos as free publicity--well, pretty much anything pony related on the internet is free publicity. But seeing a picture and watching something are two entirely different things.

[brianblackberry]

Well, maybe Hasbro (and The Hub as well) see the YouTube videos as free publicity--well, pretty much anything pony related on the internet is free publicity. But seeing a picture and watching something are two entirely different things.

Personally I am still under the impression that all previous actions against various FiM channels on Youtube were done by either trolls or bots, because getting a video temporarily pulled or a channel closed temporarily is far, far too easy on Youtube. Submit a false DMCA and Youtube pulls first and asks questions later.

Besides Hasbro seems rather lenient on this whole issue. All the videos do right now is provide free advertising and grow the fanbase, even if it isn't the target fanbase (and the videos are not hurting that either). Even if in the near future they pull down everything on Youtube, these episodes will viral through Bittorrent and other sharing sites in a flash.

[Hippo]

You're all forgetting that Hasbro is co-owner and co-founder of the Hub. Toy sales are their base, but they've sunk money into the Hub and they don't want to see it fail. And unless they have an agreement to share toy profits, their partner, Discovery Communications, gets nothing from toy sales. This puts pressure on Hasbro to kill net showings.

Frankly, I think Hasbro is happy for the attention right now, but if/when this thing reaches critical mass, they'll squelch YouTube showings in ten seconds flat.

I think what we're looking at is really YouTube (and other internet broadcasting) VS. Cable/Satellite providers, and not HUB vs. YouTube. IMO, TV subscriptions are costing way too much, and none of them allow for a la carte channel picking which they say is 'impossible.' At this rate, I am almost willing to pay a reasonable price to watch exclusive videos online, whether it be YouTube or a channel's main broadcasting site to watch their programming. In this way, I feel that YouTube is cutting the middle man out.

[Dessa]

Nonetheless, the HUB needs to show television advertisers that people are watching, and it can't do that with Youtube views. They need to convince cable companies to pick up their programming and to put their channel on basic packages. These require television viewership.

Yes, to US it's all about how much does this cost, can we get this on cable without paying an arm and a leg. But Hasbro has their own interests in mind, and Comcast and other cable providers have their own interests. Comcast can't use lawsuits to threaten pulling down media for someone else's copyright, nor do they care enough to do so.

This is about the interests of Hasbro's toy sales division versus their television division.

[Skye]

Nonetheless, the HUB needs to show television advertisers that people are watching, and it can't do that with Youtube views. They need to convince cable companies to pick up their programming and to put their channel on basic packages. These require television viewership.

Yes, to US it's all about how much does this cost, can we get this on cable without paying an arm and a leg. But Hasbro has their own interests in mind, and Comcast and other cable providers have their own interests. Comcast can't use lawsuits to threaten pulling down media for someone else's copyright, nor do they care enough to do so.

This is about the interests of Hasbro's toy sales division versus their television division.

Although the laws and stipulations of what can and can't be carried seems to get muddied even further every day. Viacom sued Youtube and I think also Google Video way back when for content on it, and Comcast has repeatedly tried to defeat things like Bittorrent and Netflix and Hulu because they don't seem to like that their cable lines are being used to provide content that they provide themselves, they're just doing it in a roundabout way. And even when they're told to knock it off by the judges, they continue to do it in other roundabout ways. The big problem is that it's all about the money. Doesn't really have anything to do with Hasbro directly except where their IP is concerned and in that regard, Hasbro does have the right to sue Youtube if they so choose. Technically by posting the episodes online, it's in violation of Copyright Law, but Copyright Law protects them by restricting copying of their property without permission. If they give permission, it's not in violation. This whole thing is always more complex and convoluted than it needs to be due to legalese and lawyer interpretation.