Online TV spats mean fewer free shows on Web  By Ryan Nakashima
Associated Press  Published: Monday, Oct. 25 2010 8:00 a.m. MDT
For the past several years, broadcasters have been pushing cable
and satellite operators to pay more to carry broadcast
programming that can also be received over the air with a
digital antenna. Because most people now get broadcast stations
through subscription services, the cable and satellite operators
have been grudgingly paying for the retransmission rights.  Such
fees have become an increasingly lucrative revenue stream that
makes free over-the-air TV more closely resemble cable channels
that require paid subscriptions.  But broadcasters find they now
must justify those payments. One way is to limit access to their
shows for free online, just as Time Warner Inc.'s HBO and other
cable channels limit access to their programs on the Web. Access
requires passwords tied to cable subscriptions. Baine and
Greenfield said broadcasters would likely move to this "walled
garden" approac