Lawyers for NBC
television network are seeking to have a Saturday Night Live parody rap
video featuring actress Natalie Portman permanently removed from internet outlets
that allow users to trade videos.
Portman performed
a profanity-laced rap on Saturday, as she was the host of the long-running variety
show. According to Fox News, the video received approximately 438,000 views
on YouTube.com prior to being disabled on Monday.
Some analysts feel
that NBC and SNL may be missing marketing opportunities with their aggressive
pursuit against these video-swapping outlets.
Norman Parrish,
CEO of the The Parrish Group, a strategic marketing and brokering firm said
the two entities might be missing a progressive point.
"I am a viral
marketing advocate. Corporations need to stop panicking and start embracing
the organic spread of their products," Parrish told AllHipHop.com. "Hip-Hop
thrives on viral marketing and it’s a billion dollar business, in part, because
of it."
NBC and Saturday
Night Live accomplished a similar feat with "Lazy Sunday," another
rap parody better known as "Chronic-WHAT-cles of Narnia."
Both videos are
available on NBC.com and "Lazy Sunday" is available for a $1.99 download
on Apple’s iTunes, a financial justification for banning the video on swapping
sites.
"SNL
and NBC are trying to control a viral situation. But they need to be careful
because they run the risk of alienating potential new viewers," Parrish
continued. "We won’t be able to tell if stopping the natural spread of
the clip was a bad or good move for them until next week when they can measure
how many people went to the NBC.com site to see the clip or how many people
tuned in to watch."
