Video Monitoring Services of America

Video Monitoring Services of America^[1][2][3][4] collects and distributes information about TV news broadcasting and its viewership.^[2]

History

Robert J. Cohen founded VMS.^[5][6]

The New York Times described them as "a company that tracks news programs in major cities."^[2] Their coverage includes news about the industry.^[2] News sources use their transcripts^[7][8] and statistics.^[9]

They bought a Phoenix-based clipping service in 1998.^[1]

Their "VMS DOES!" ads in Advertising Age used time-pressured "Do You Know" captions (Do You Know How To Get A Reel Of All Commercials Featuring 7 Guys In Flowered Hats ... By Noon Tomorrow?,^[10] Do You Know Your Competitor Broke Their New Coffee TV Campaign In Seattle Last Night?^[11]) appearing with unusual images.

Controversy

Their operation involves recording 24/7 and then selectively reviewing broadcast. It was proven in court that they sold a 30-minute CNN segment. CNN then attempted to get an order blocking all future recordings. Video Monitoring countered that this was over-reaching, especially since future broadcast do not exist; by law, something that does not exist cannot be copyrighted.^[12] From prior cases it was clarified that "The primary objective of copyright is not to reward the labor or authors, but '[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.'" ^[12]: 18