Earlier this week, we discussed here at Like that Idea how NBC’s handling of people posting “amateur” video clips of Saturday Night Live skits on Internet servers. We took no issue with NBC’s claim of copyright, but argued that as copyright holders it may have been a better business decision to allow fans to post such skits on sites. In our opinion, they should have considered it free advertising reaching their intended target. The whole NBC-YouTube episode was our first if three example of how TV networks have lost touch with their audience.

Since our posting, we’ve noticed some bigger fish also picking up on the story we first saw on CNET. One of those bigger fish includes the Motley Fool which argued a day after us some of the same points we made:

After all, the runaway success of “Lazy Sunday” had little to do with its original airing on SNL. But given YouTube’s growing popularity among the young audience that NBC surely covets, I’d have to say that for now, this seems like a rather shortsighted move. Much like the music recording industry’s often heavy-handed tactics, NBC’s decision to pull the plug might irritate the same customers it’s trying to attract.

However, this story doesn’t end. From this episode there are two more examples that can be drawn for how TV networks have lost touch with their audience.

Example 2: Many of the TV networks deny up to twenty percent of their audience from accessing their content fully.

This isn’t something new, but it is still amazing to me the number of large companies that don’t make their Web sites compatible with anything other than Windows and Internet Explorer (IE). Even those articles discussing Windows and IE favorably can’t hide the fact that 20 percent of Americans do not use IE. Instead those users use alternative browsers such as Firefox (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac) and Safari (Mac). NBC is of course one of these companies that have yet to recognized how much the Internet and its users have evolved in the past five years. From the CNET article:

The video continues to reside on NBC’s official “SNL” site, though its embedded video player appears to work only with Windows.

Reading the CNET article you would believe that it’s only the Linux and possibly Mac crowd that need to worry about not being able to access the videos from the NBC site. However, when likethatidea.com visited NBC.com, using Windows XP and Firefox 1.5, we were prompted with a message that not only said you needed a Windows operating system but also Internet Explorer 5.5 or greater. So not only are the Linux and Mac users out from accessing the video but also Windows users using a non-IE browser.

Once again, the videos are NBC’s property and they can do what they wish. However, you just have to wonder why a network that wants to attract a younger and hipper audience to their network programming would do such a stupid thing. How many real businesses would survive pushing away 20 percent of their customers? I argue not many, especially those that are out of touch with their audience.

Example 3: Networks, such as NBC, insult their audience without even knowing what they’re doing wrong.

Let me ask you, if you sent an e-mail to a company that expressed concerns with a service or product not meeting your expectation, what would you expect in their reply? I think most of you would expect at a minimum a form letter that replied back addressing your concerns. Well I wrote back to NBC and they sent me back a form letter, but it so badly written that it barely touched on my concerns. In fact, it suggested I fill out one of their surveys! Yes, that’s how to calm a customer down…ask them to take additional time out of their schedule to fill out a survey.

However, the most insulting part of their response was in the final line of their reply, a reply responding to my concerns about not being able to properly access their Website without Internet Explorer. I’ve posted NBC’s response to my e-mail below and will let you judge it on its own merits.

Thanks for your email. NBC values your comments, but unfortunately, due to the volume of emails we receive, we cannot respond to each one. Please check our FAQ section to see if your question is answered there:http://www.nbc.com/faq/Since we cannot accept unsolicited scripts, show ideas, or other creative material, any such submission by email will be deleted without being read.We would also like to hear more of your opinions about television and the programs you watch. If you would like to share your feedback with us by becoming part of our viewer panel, please visit the following link:http://www2.rresults.com/1809998/index.cfm?s=50 Once you join, you’ll occasionally be invited to take Internet surveys, which are fun to do and usually take about 5 minutes to complete. The information you give will have an impact on the television programs you enjoy.Thanks for logging on to NBC’s websites.