A handful of comediants are producing specials on their own, posting them online and selling them directly through their personal Web sites, eliminating the control of broadcaster and airing things that might be not appropriate.

• Louis C. K. released a stand-up special "Live at the Beacon Theater" as a $5 download and sold 220,000 downloads, grossing over $1.1 million. Above is an outtake from that special.
   
• Jim Gaffigan has used online content provider like Netflix, Amazon and YouTube, and make some shows available free to viewers who watched a block of commercials first.
   

Also, content that has been neglected by television has been capitalized on the Internet. Last month Yahoo offered a live performance by Bill Maher that generated more than 2 million streams. 

One thing is sure: once again, the Internet is many times the salvation of TV specials and shows.