Viacom and CBS have seen their income stemming from program distribution rights leap 28 and 22 percent respectively, due in part to the Internet effect.
For those who own content, the multiplication of online video services can have a favorable effect by bidding up the money they can get from selling distribution rights.
In Nail's opinion, there is "a lot more to do before (television companies) meet consumer demand and create the new business model they need to profit" from Internet-driven change. "The gap between what consumers want and the way the industry is delivering it has grown so big that the industry now has to start to make some moves," Forrester Research analyst Jim Nail told AFP.
Viacom, Time Warner, Disney, 21st Century Fox, CBS -- the second quarter results of the big US media groups confirmed that cable networks remain their cash cows.
For the first time this year, however, American adults are spending more time with the Internet than in front of television sets -- abo