... Quite a long time, I'd think. And that's the challenge the folks at YouTube are up against after Viacom Inc. ordered the company to remove all Viacom content from the popular video Web site. Of course, those approximately 100,000 Viacom clips aren't all of Jon Stewart, but snippets from his "Daily Show" are among the most-viewed content on the video-sharing site. YouTube contains video content of all kinds that his uploaded by its users, from homemade band demos to video blogs to TV commercials, and mash-ups of songs accompanying film clips.

What's gotten Viacom's ire is the presence of clips from the network's shows including Comedy Central's "Daily Show." But media watchers have speculated that Viacom's order is just a negotiating tactic to help further a deal with YouTube regarding payment for video content. Viacom wants to be paid for including the media giant's content on YouTube.

Besides the Comedy Central channel, Viacom properties also include MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike TV, and Paramount Pictures. The Wall Street Journal reports that while Viacom had previously asked YouTube to take down full episodes of TV shows, it had allowed short clips to be included on YouTube.

Viacom and YouTube had been trying for months to reach a distribution agreement but talks had failed. The paper reported that "Viacom executives said privately they had determined that the marketing boost they once believed YouTube provided them has proved to be a mirage."

YouTube's CEO refuted this, however, noting in an interview with the Journal that other media companies such as NBS and CBS had reached partnership agreements with YouTube.

"Viacom claims that the roughly 100,000 clips it ordered removed accounted for 1.2 billion video streams," the Journal said. "Viacom also has provided YouTube with a list of all of its programs and ordered the Web concern to keep Viacom content off the site in the future. It is unclear whether there is a legal basis for Viacom to enforce this request, however."

When Google bought YouTube last year a big question mark was what the popular site would do about its huge catalog of work that violated copyright laws in some form or another. Google seemed to answer that question when it announced it would be reaching major licensing deals with content providers, but there have been snags in that process.

Is this is a battle between old media and new media, or just a negotiating ploy? That remains to be seen. But Google's deep corporate coffers make it more attractive as a target of a lawsuit than the two founders of the startup YouTube running their video-sharing network on a shoestring.