Japanese TV nets slam YouTube over parody of kids' show

Xeni Jardin 5:24 pm Sun Jul 2, 2006

Just as NBC embraces YouTube after having initially attacked the video-sharing service for copyright infringement, broadcasters in Japan are reportedly having a collective panic attack. What makes the news more absurd: The besmirched reputation of a TV character named "Spoo" is said to have sparked the dispute. Blogger Gaijin Biker says,

Japanese broadcasters are starting to demand that clips of their shows be pulled off YouTube (which has become quite popular in Japan).

This reflexive old-media reaction to new technology is perhaps predictable. But in the case of Japanese public broadcaster NHK, the demands seem motivated less by copyright concerns and more by sheer spite, after Internet snarksters began mocking a clip from one of its kiddie shows.

Link to post with a discussion of the show in question, its main character — the giant critter named "Spoo" — and links to hysterical YouTube Spoo parodies. Attention Babylon 5 fans! Do not confuse this "Spoo" with that spoo. The Japanese variety tastes more like chicken.

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