Retro TV archive under threat of deletion because of Sony

An independent retro TV archive has had its work put at risk because of copyright strikes from Sony, forcing it into a race against time.

TV preservation has existed on YouTube since its creation and existed before that. Whether through accidental means, old tapes being unearthed, or active groups, preservation in the digital age has never been more important.

The Museum of Classic Chicago Television is a fairly old YouTube channel, dating back to 2007, and has been cataloguing old TV shows and commercials for 16 years. This can range from anything like a news broadcast to full shows or even old Sesame Street clips. The passion project has accumulated nearly 150,000 subscribers and millions of views.

However, copyright strikes on the channel from Sony have set a race against time into motion. The team now has less than 48 hours according to TorrentFreak to save the channel or have it all wiped. As pointed out in the original report, the TV archivists are operating as a non-profit, but due to the YouTube method of claiming copyright, there’s no way to double-check against that.

The claims are being filed under Sony, but are actually stemming from MarkScan. This company works on behalf of those it represents and protects copyrighted intellectual properties. However, the company has been notorious for ignoring those who reach out. MarkScan even accidentally hit Sony’s own website for similar things.

TV archivists race time and copyright to save 16 years of work

Sony has hit the TV archive with strikes over a couple of broadcasts of Bewitched, from 1964, 1967, and 1984. The show is only available for streaming if you pay per season or episode.

However, the lead archivist behind the group, Rick Klein, has said that he believes they’ve been left alone due to the low quality of the recordings. Speaking with TorrentFreak, Klein said:

“These were relatively low picture quality broadcast examples from various channels from various years at least 30-40 years ago, with the original commercial breaks intact.”

It wouldn’t be the first, nor the last time that YouTube has caused headaches with its copyright flagging system. Most recently, a huge scandal emerged from the Latino music scene, where malicious actors siphoned off cash from artists by claiming copyright.