It's an ad model that's very much in evolution. There's a need for some kind of structure in this space.

They [Comcast] control the network, and so there is a service quality that they can ensure. From their perspective, it is worth the premium [price], and arguably it is.

More important is the opportunity to up-sell Comcast high-speed Internet access. You're getting this subscriber base to bring their own access, and Comcast can sell them cable-modem service pretty aggressively.

Cable operators all around the country are trying to migrate their customers to digital so eventually . . . they can reclaim some of that analog bandwidth.

It's starting to look as though both camps have sufficient backing to stick around for awhile.

For companies like Disney and Viacom that don't have a distribution arm, using the Internet provides a way to have a direct relationship with the consumer. You eliminate the middleman.