Lights, Camera, Advertisements

The digital revolution is blurring the lines between traditional television shows and Internet video by changing how programs are delivered to consumers. It's also changing how shows are made and who makes them.

Movie-streaming company Netflix Inc. is about to produce its first original show. Google's YouTube is readying a slate of channels to host programs, according to people familiar with the matter. A new talk show hosted by Diablo Cody that began as a home video posted on YouTube is now being sponsored by Lexus. Web shows like "First Day" could provide a template for TV's future that harkens back to the era when advertisers not only sponsored but helped to create, cast and script "soap operas" and variety shows.