The sketch about boy bands, guest staring former boy band member Justin Timberlake, had the cast members singing a pop-style song about giving their genitals to their girlfriends as presents for winter holidays such as Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanza, leading to the sketch's nickname "Special Treat."
An uncensored version of the sketch appeared on NBC's website and on YouTube shortly after the program concluded, gaining more than 2 million hits in less than a week, possibly becoming the first case where a scripted comedy has used the internet to avoid scrutiny from both its own censors and the Federal Communications Commission.
Saturday Night Live's creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels said the "director's cut" of the sketch does not necessarily represent the future of SNL, but predicted that other shows would follow NBC's lead. Still, this is not the first time an SNL sketch has gained popularity on the internet. A bootleg version of a rap parody about eating cupcakes and watching "The Chronicles of Narnia" on the Upper West Side hit YouTube less than a year ago, gathering millions of viewers before NBC ordered the copyrighted material removed. Then, NBC entered into an agreement with the web site in which copyrighted material from NBC shows would be displayed on a dedicated page.
These two sketches, and many other popular SNL sketches found on YouTube, involve the work of performer Andy Samberg. The idea for "Special Treat" was conceived when Michaels asked Samberg to write a funny sketch that could show off host/musical guest Timberlake's vocal skills. Samberg finished putting together the video with Timberlake just eight hours before the episode of SNL was to start, and showed it to NBC late-night program executive Rick Ludwin. It was a foregone conclusion that the video would have to be censored for broadcast, but the SNL producers specially requested of Ludwin permission for an uncensored web version.
After review, Ludwin approved the sketch and obtained permission to post a web version concluding that, while some people would be offended, the average internet user would not be shocked by the sketch. Yet, despite the success of this endeavor, it has not opened any floodgates for NBC programming reaching the net unchecked, according to NBC President of Digital Content for NBC Universal Jeff Gaspin.
"We're still not going to put just anything out there," he said. "We still have to protect the brands."
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