Written by Katie Fehrenbacher
Posted Tuesday, February 20, 2007 at 3:48 PM PT

 

Is NHL putting YouTube Sharing on Ice?

Update 2: NHL now says the problem was a glitch/miscommunication on their end. The conclusion to the story (hopefully this is it?) got so long, we wrote it up in a separate post.

Update: NHL tells us: “We’re trying to determine why this happened…it wasn’t at our request. We have a call into YouTube and should be able to tell you more later today.” Also several of the NHL videos on YouTube that we linked to have had their embed tags reinstated — this is what those looked like before the fix.

Media companies are struggling over how to work with YouTube. Is the video site a friend or a foe? Even those that are embracing Google’s online video company aren’t so sure where to draw the line.

The NHL, which gained nearly universal praise for its decision to allow widespread use and sharing of highlight clips on YouTube, seems to be putting the practice of allowing embedding on ice, with some NHL clips on YouTube now sporting the line Embedding disabled by request in the embed code field.

Mark Phillip, founder of Areyouwatchingthis.com (RUWT?), which is like a Digg for sports events, sent us an email saying that the National Hockey League (NHL) is now blocking users from embedding NHL videos posted on YouTube onto any other site. The embedded NHL YouTube videos on RUWT? now are unplayable and say “the owner of this video does not allow video embedding, please watch this on [YouTube].”

It’s interesting because the NHL is one of a few sports leagues that has been using YouTube to bring in more viewers. Phillip says RUWT? has been embedding videos posted by the NHL on YouTube in its stories for a few months now, and right now they have 578 game recaps identified and linked to news stories. Phillip says:

I’m obviously biased, but I think that this is a huge mistake. . . I’m still shocked that despite putting their videos on YouTube, they don’t understand why they’re putting their videos on YouTube.

Check out this link to a YouTube video with no embed code. Phillip also talks more about his reactions on the company blog.

Still, not all the NHL Video clips have been disabled, as seen below. Enjoy while you can. More info as we hear more from YouTube or the NHL.

 

Sphere
Topic: Legal, Money & Power, Online Video
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Comments & Trackbacks

  1. wow, what was the point in offering them up in the first place? the cool part of online video, especially youtube is the viral nature of the content. i dig something, i embed it on my site/blog/myspace. revoking that type of usage makes you wonder why they bothered at all.

    drew olanoff on February 20th, 2007 at 4:28 pm - Permalink

  2. [...] The NHL has a substantial presence on YouTube. However, they told one person who was legally embedding these videos on his site to skate to the penalty box. They have recently banned the ability to embed videos on other sites - something that CBS, NBC and others who have vids on YouTube gladly support. (Note HTML code on the right hand side) I am sure the NHL will also love the fact that anyone can download their videos right to a hard drive and re-post them. Same thing applies for vids they have on Google Video. YouTube is a place to share and be shared, not a TV network for the Internet. When will people get the message?More from NewTeeVee. [...]

    Blog Mirrors » NHL Bans YouTube Video Embeds on February 20th, 2007 at 6:31 pm - Permalink

  3. [...] According to NewTeeVee, the NHL is backing away from a widely-acclaimed policy of allowing the use of video clips on YouTube. Despite NHL commissioner Gary Bettman’s Don Quixote-like insistence that the NHL succeed in the U.S., the sport continues to struggle. In fact, attendance in many U.S. markets is down dramatically from last year (although the NHL claims attendance is up because it counts giveaways and freebies). As a Canadian who continues the NHL part of our culture, you shake your head sometimes by some of the decisions made out of the league offices in New York. You wonder if the Bettman and his gang really understand hockey. For more check out Areyouwatchingthis.com and Steve Rubel. [...]

    Hockey Beat » Blog Archive » NHL: Two-Minutes for Being Dumb on February 21st, 2007 at 4:22 am - Permalink

  4. [...] The WSJ runs a long piece today on the troubled state of negotiations between GooTube and the TV industry. Meanwhile, Katie Fehrenbacker wonders whether the NHL is backing away from GooTube.              Related Posts [...]

    robhyndman.com » Blog Archive » Behind the Scenes on GooTube-TV Industry Negotiations on February 21st, 2007 at 4:49 am - Permalink

  5. [...] An update to my post from last night. Keith Ritter, who runs the NHL’s digital business, writes in that despite earlier reports, the National Hockey League has not asked YouTube to change the way it serves video. In other words, they have nothing against embedding. They are looking into why this occurred. Further, they have told me they are committed to sharing videos. If you blogged this you might want to amend your post. [...]

    Blog Mirrors » NHL on YouTube Embeds: Game On on February 21st, 2007 at 6:58 am - Permalink

  6. [...] a call into YouTube and should be able to tell you more later today.” No comments Share/Send Sphere Topic: Reporter’s Log Tags: NHL,YouTube [...]

    GigaOM » NHL Says it Didn’t Request Blocked Embedding on February 21st, 2007 at 9:22 am - Permalink

  7. NHL: Glitch On YouTube’s Part Prevented Embedding…

    Following up on yesterday’s post concerning the NHL and the embedding of YouTube videos, the NHL’s Mark Fischel dropped us……

    Off Wing Opinion on February 21st, 2007 at 9:34 am - Permalink

  8. [...] YouTube has been put in the penalty box again. This time it’s the NHL having issues with how their video clips are shared. You can still see those hockey clips on YouTube, but the league no longer allows them to be embedded in other websites. If you want to see a clip, you have to go to YouTube to watch it. Mark Phillip, founder of AreYouWatchingThis.com, said the NHL just doesn’t get it: [...]

    WebProNews Video Blog » Blog Archive » Google Adwords Increase , Getty Looks to Buy Jupitermedia on February 21st, 2007 at 10:25 am - Permalink

  9. [...] [Update] Call off the attack dogs. Someone at You Tube flipped the wrong switch, all is OK. NewTeeVee has the scoop. NHL tells us: “We’re trying to determine why this happened…it wasn’t at our request. We have a call into YouTube and should be able to tell you more later today.” Also several of the NHL videos on YouTube that we linked to have had their embed tags reinstated. [...]

    Islanders Army» Blog Archive » [Update] NHL Needs “Internet For Dummies” Book on February 21st, 2007 at 10:44 am - Permalink

  10. [...] Looks like a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing — or maybe some old hockey puck head injuries are haunting the NHL folks. Now the latest word from the NHL is that the problem with the blocking of some of its YouTube embeds yesterday was due to both an “internal miscommunication,” and an internal “technical glitch” which have since “been corrected.” “Someone made a technical mistake, not deliberate, it wasn’t detected right away, once it was, it was fixed…so there was an element of both [miscommunication and technical glitch].” — NHL PR [...]

    NewTeeVee » NHL, YouTube embed update on February 21st, 2007 at 10:54 am - Permalink

  11. [...] Katie Fehrenbacher at NewTeeVee says that the National Hockey League, which did a deal with YouTube last year to put hundreds of hours worth of old game videos up on the site, has started disabling embedding of its videos — trying to force people to watch them at YouTube. Hey NHL: Three minutes for being stupid. [...]

    NBA video mashup site falls short » mathewingram.com/work on February 21st, 2007 at 12:21 pm - Permalink

  12. [...] February has not been kind to Google (GOOG). The fragile status of its YouTube unit was on display this week, as The Browser noted yesterday, when Viacom (VIA) announced that it would zap its videos over startup rival Joost. The National Hockey League, which had once embraced YouTube, is now apparently yanking videos from the site. And while it’s a single-market hit, we noticed that Norwegian media giant Schibsted announced that it was starting a local competitor to YouTube. Now comes word in today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that the much vaunted deal between Google and CBS (CBS) seems to be falling apart. [...]

    profit.puremoney.info » Blog Archive » Latest news on February 21st, 2007 at 5:04 pm - Permalink

  13. [...] February has not been kind to Google (GOOG). The fragile status of its YouTube unit was on display this week, as The Browser noted yesterday, when Viacom (VIA) announced that it would zap its videos over startup rival Joost. The National Hockey League, which had once embraced YouTube, is now apparently yanking videos from the site. And while it’s a single-market hit, we noticed that Norwegian media giant Schibsted announced that it was starting a local competitor to YouTube. Now comes word in today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that the much vaunted deal between Google and CBS (CBS) seems to be falling apart. [...]

    cristychen.info » Latest news on February 21st, 2007 at 9:44 pm - Permalink

  14. [...] February has not been kind to Google (GOOG). The fragile status of its YouTube unit was on display this week, as The Browser noted yesterday, when Viacom (VIA) announced that it would zap its videos over startup rival Joost. The National Hockey League, which had once embraced YouTube, is now apparently yanking videos from the site. And while it’s a single-market hit, we noticed that Norwegian media giant Schibsted announced that it was starting a local competitor to YouTube. Now comes word in today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that the much vaunted deal between Google and CBS (CBS) seems to be falling apart. [...]

    moneygrabber » Latest news on February 22nd, 2007 at 5:03 am - Permalink

  15. [...] NewTeeVee » Is NHL putting YouTube Sharing on Ice? [...]

    Geek, Sports and Nonsense! - Joel Price » Is NHL putting YouTube on ice? on February 22nd, 2007 at 11:26 pm - Permalink

  16. [...] of my favorite features on RUWT? are the videos that are imported every day. There was the humorous dust up when the NHL temporarily blocked YouTube embeds, but RUWT? is the only sports site where you can watch NHL video recaps (with no ads!), while [...]

    RUWT?blog » Blog Archive » RUWTbot plotting invasion of Canada on July 11th, 2007 at 4:44 pm - Permalink

  17. [...] forward eight months, and we have gotten into a tiff with the NHL, caught countless classics, stumbled through a radio interview, and just yesterday blew through the [...]

    RUWT?blog » Blog Archive » Burstin’ at the seams on October 10th, 2007 at 7:44 pm - Permalink

  18. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uorur2iS1xA&hl=en]

    bob on March 22nd, 2008 at 11:04 am - Permalink

  19. [...] this was an error on youtube or the NHL Is NHL putting YouTube Sharing on Ice? NewTeeVee "Update: NHL tells us: “We’re trying to determine why this happened…it [...]

    NHL cracking down on youtube contents - Los Angeles Kings Hockey Fan Forum on April 27th, 2008 at 4:39 pm - Permalink

  20. how can i put a youtube in my internet bec. i dont have a youtube pls tell me how send it in my address ok bec. i want to watch many movies in youtube

    dana on May 18th, 2008 at 7:21 am - Permalink

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