Cable networks do not have to fear the internet. It may have killed the business models of many record labels and newspapers, but there good reasons to think that companies distributing programming can dodge the online bullet.

For a start, making video of even moderate quality is a very different, and more expensive proposition than writing a blog or starting a band in the garage. User generated content fills a variety of niches but is unlikely to derail television. It is striking that the 10 most popular videos on YouTube in 2008 were all professional efforts.