Cable--both ad-supported and premium--now accounts for more than 55% of television viewership, up from only 10% in the early 1980s.

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While the two operate on different terms--in addition to cable's dual revenue streams (advertising dollars and subscription fees) as opposed to broadcast's singular ad-supported model, cable has far fewer programming hours to fill and less fare to promote--broadcasters would be wise to consider four of cable's best practices.

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But while ad-supported cable continues to soar, the broadcast nets haven't fared so well.

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If that happens, he expects Netflix's licensing fees to rise even higher than the company has been anticipating as studios try to make up for the revenue they lose from cable providers and advertising-supported broadcasters.

MSN: Netflix's monthly video streaming tops 1 billion hours

The ad-supported basic cable and satellite channel, available in about 62 million U.S. homes, did a road test of the new name and found significantly more people said they would watch UP over the alphabet-soup GMC.

NPR: GMC TV Changes Name To UP To Reflect Programming

Though Hulu has had little trouble serving up broadcast programming from 30 Rock to Desperate Housewives, securing cable series on the free (advertiser-supported) service has proved trickier.

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Such popularity gave Ledford the confidence to develop a full-time, ad-supported network and to persuade cable companies to pay to carry it.

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Apple and the cable companies premium paid model may prove less popular with consumers than the free ad-supported model.

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