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Fight Brews Over Cable Content Going Online

In recent months, a smattering of made-for-cable programs have started to become available in full over the Internet. Last week, "The Daily Show" and other Comedy Central offerings were added to the list, even though Comedy Central once vowed it would never Webcast its entire programs.

This Vebcasting trend annoys cable operators. Glenn Britt, chief of Time Warner Cable, recently said that Webcasting a program the same day it is broadcast, "erodes your business model" and cable operators "have to intervene at some point."

Regarding the new Webcasts of "The Daily Show," a Time Warner Cable exec says that Comedy Central parent Viacom "can't have it both ways. If they put content online for free and they ask cable companies to pay for it, they are making it less valuable, and we should be expected to pay less."

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