The digital revolution is changing the way people view traditional television shows and Internet video by evolving how programs are delivered to consumers. The revolution is also changing how shows are made and who makes them. Netflix Inc., for example is about to produce its first original show, and Google Inc.'s YouTube is getting ready to launch a series of channels to host programs. Diablo Cody is hosting a new talk show that began as a home video posted on YouTube, and is now being sponsored by Lexus.

With this change, advertisers could end up calling more of the shots—from what kind of characters get on the air to the types of stories that get told. However great this change in of advertiser-produced shows may be, it comes in during hard times for the television industry. Audiences for the average TV program are shrinking, as viewers find alternate ways to watch video, such as on devices like iPads and computers through streaming sites such as Hulu LLC. Viewing shows from connected devices means threatening tens of billions of dollars in advertising. It still remains unclear whether a new generation of viewers will subscribe to cable TV in the same numbers as their parents. The uncertainty of that threatens tens of billions of subscription dollars.

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