Newspaper ignores users, YouTube terms for ad revenue gains

Continuing its history of ethically-questionable advertising policies, my local paper, the Bangor Daily News, is now trying a new tactic: Taking videos from YouTube, embedding them on the News site, and then running their own full :30 second pre-roll ads in front of the videos. This grab for advertising revenue is not only an annoyance to users, it’s also a direct violation of YouTube’s terms of service.

Take this heartwarming article from December 14th: A local teacher proposed to his girlfriend, a teacher from another school, and was savvy enough to capture the event on video and post it to YouTube. In their story covering the event, the News smartly embeds the video – a great way to not only increase page views, but add to the story.

Not content to simply embed the video, the News wraps its own video player over the existing YouTube video, then proceeds to stick a non-skippable, full-length :30 advertisement in front of the groom-to-be’s homemade production.

Section 4 of YouTube’s Terms of Service clearly prohibit these actions, as described here:

1. You agree not to access Content through any technology or means other than the video playback pages of the Service itself, the Embeddable Player, or other explicitly authorized means YouTube may designate.
2. You agree not to use the Service for any of the following commercial uses unless you obtain YouTube’s prior written approval:

• the sale of access to the Service;
• the sale of advertising, sponsorships, or promotions placed on or within the Service or Content; or
• the sale of advertising, sponsorships, or promotions on any page of an ad-enabled blog or website containing Content delivered via the Service, unless other material not obtained from YouTube appears on the same page and is of sufficient value to be the basis for such sales.

The print journalism industry is in serious decline; creativity and hustle will be needed to make it a viable media option for consumers in this century. But resorting to tactics that annoy users and bite the hand of service providers is not a long-term solution for any business, no matter how storied their history or how bleak their future.