CBS Corp. enjoys the attention YouTube users has lavished on the network.

What’s not to love? Its video clips are among the most viewed on the service and the licensing deal has already started to pay off with higher TV ratings for some of its late night programming, CBS says.

But a Monday New York Times report suggests the network might prefer if YouTube’s more outspoken fans and critics take it outside — in this case on a separate page away from its video. CBS has requested some comments that usually appear below its YouTube video clips be relocated.

Quincy Smith, president of CBS interactive, argues in the report that CBS prefers a cleaner page with the ability to weed out “completely unuseful comments.”

From the Times report:
“Mr. Smith said that CBS was trying to provide the best possible interactive experience for the viewers, noting that many YouTube users critical comments are passed around the network. ‘Weve got to encourage more feedback,’ he said. ‘I dont want to mess with the YouTube experience.’”

…just not on the same page.

The shape of things to come? It’s something to think about as some of the top U.S. TV networks mull creating a YouTube rival, according to reports stemming from Jon Fine’s BusinessWeek column. A TechCrunch report links those talks to speculation over a deal to buy rival online video service MetaCafe.

(Full disclosure: Reuters blogs editors moderate all comments before publication, and reserve the right to edit comments.)