After spending far too many resources to fight the internet (the YouTube smackdown), Viacom Inc. has finally gotten a clue. Next year, every single episode of “South Park” will be present and absolutely free online:

The decision from the biggest division of media conglomerate Viacom Inc follows on the heels of the “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” whose popularity online has helped boost television viewership.

MTV Networks’ Comedy Central channel network began offering in October some 13,000 “Daily Show” videos dating back to 1999.

Presenting versions of TV shows online has not hurt television ratings, and may have actually helped.

“One does not diminish the other by any stretch of the imagination. That is kind of our hat trick,” MTV Networks Chairman and Chief Executive Judy McGrath said at the Reuters Media Summit in New York on Wednesday.

That’s right — even the “Trapped In The Closet” episode that pissed off Tom Cruise will be available online. Thank you, Matt Stone and Trey Parker!

Source: Reuters