http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/business/media/05letterman.html?_r=1
Article Tools Sponsored By By BRIAN STELTER Published: October 4, 2009 Keeping quiet about an apparent extortion attempt against David Letterman and "The Late Show," CBS worked over the weekend to stamp out unauthorized copies of the late-night host's televised explanation. The network did not post official copies of the segment on CBS.com or on YouTube, proving that while media companies are now generally eager to distribute their material on the Web, there are still some TV moments they would rather not spread widely. In a remarkable 10-minute segment Thursday night, Mr. Letterman told viewers of a Connecticut man's suspected $2 million extortion attempt, predicated on evidence of Mr. Letterman's sexual relationships with female employees. The suspect, Robert Joel Halderman of CBS News, was arrested Thursday and released on bail Friday. Copies of the segment were uploaded almost immediately to YouTube by users, but many of them were flagged by CBS for removal, citing copyright claims. The network did not provide an official copy. "It's incredibly odd to see CBS sitting on viral gold like that, especially when you consider how they spew out dozens of official clips a day," said David Burch, a marketing director at TubeMogul, which tracks online viewership of videos. CBS appears to be more lenient about archival "Late Show" clips of Mr. Letterman and Stephanie Birkitt, a former assistant who had a relationship with Mr. Letterman and who has appeared regularly on the show over the years. TubeMogul said those clips have been viewed 600,000 times on YouTube. CBS's decision to withhold the clips online was prompted by a request from producers at Mr. Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. Even without the clip of Thursday's show, the CBS channel on YouTube had a 25 percent jump in views over the last three days, Mr. Burch said. Among the top videos were a news segment about the extortion plot. CBS had no comment on the decision to withhold the clip. On Sunday, only one video on the CBS.com home page referred to the case: a segment from its morning show, raising the question, "Why Do Men Risk It for Sex?" Since the revelations, the story has unfolded on television and on gossip Web sites without further comment from the intensely private Mr. Letterman, who indicated on Thursday's program that "I don't plan to say much more about this on this particular topic." He appeared on the CBS News program "Sunday Morning" for a joint interview with his sidekick Paul Shaffer, but because it was taped Tuesday and was timed to promote Mr. Shaffer's new book, it did not refer to what the tabloids were calling a sex scandal. Similarly, it did not come up on the Friday episode of "The Late Show," which was taped on Thursday. But some viewers noticed a pointed comment about Mr. Letterman's personal life by his guest on Friday's show, Larry David, the star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." "I've probably broken a record for the least amount of sex for a person who has their own television show," Mr. David said to Mr. Letterman, adding, "I probably broke yours." Mr. Letterman laughed sheepishly as the audience clapped. "I don't know," the host said. "Oh, buddy." Bill Carter contributed reporting. *********************************** * POST TO MEDIANEWS@ETSKYWARN.NET * *********************************** Medianews mailing list Medianews@etskywarn.net http://lists.etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews
