You raise an interesting point. I'm not sure what YouTube counts as a "hit" -- it's probably as you say just initiating a "view". Let's assume that only 1% view

You raise an interesting point. I'm not sure what YouTube counts as a "hit" -- it's probably as you say just initiating a "view". Let's assume that only 1% viewed the video 'til the end. That's still 1.5MM full views, for which Mr. Waterman received £11. That's still paltry! And, in any case, YouTube certainly knows how many views carried through to the end or close to the end of the video, and as such is in a position to refute Mr. Waterman's claim.