YouTube has begun to remove Comedy Central clips from shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.

It’s unfortunate. Colbert’s show has been one of the leaders in embracing the Internet and engaging with viewers online. The Internet audience, and YouTube in particular, have been instrumental in building the audience for these shows. The YouTube clips were additive to my viewing of The Colbert Report on cable – I’d often forward links to friends of particularly funny episodes.

Many of the videos are still available on Comedy Central’s horrendous Motherload site. But it’s nowhere near as easy for users to search for, view and share clips from Comedy Central’s site.

I’m still hopeful that YouTube and Comedy Central will come to a revenue sharing agreement and that we’ll see authorized clips on YouTube.