Analysts agreed, saying the company could be leveraging Al Jazeera America, seeking to get a per-subscriber payment for the cable firm in exchange for carrying the channel.

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In exchange Malone received UPC's Irish cable assets, a closer geographical match to his U.K. cable company, Telewest.

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In exchange for funding the WiMax joint venture, the cable companies would get equity in the business and would be able to purchase wholesale access to the network to offer their own high-speed wireless data and voice services to customers, the people familiar with the discussions said.

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The cable companies often take financial interests in those networks in exchange for carriage.

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If so, it could complicate deals with cable companies, many of which, like MHZ Networks, agree to carry international channels in exchange for a share of commercial revenue.

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