The music industry is lost. The film industry isn't far behind. The TV networks, well, they might actually have a clue.
The Internet changes the way we consume content. The change didn't feel as drastic for print media, because old fashioned magazines and newspapers didn't really interfere with the "when" part of how we consumed that content. Music, film and video are a different story though, because those things require some piece of hardware, or that we view these things at certain times. Add to that pricing models that generally pissed off consumers.
Broadcast TV is a little different in that you don't really pay for it. Well, you pay for the pipe that gets it to you in most cases (satellite or cable), but beyond that it is, essentially free and paid for by the advertising. So if people strip out the ads and start sending it around the Internet, you as a TV network are going to be in a world of hurt because your content isn't paid for.
So they're being proactive and saying, "We're gonna put it out there ourselves." Good plan. Seriously, it's the smartest thing they could do. I've felt for some time that broadcast TV, and even cable, is a dinosaur institution that has only continued to exist because of the distribution medium and its regulation. Now that the Internet is getting to the point where it can handle video, the rules are changing. I think the comment the one exec in the story made about piracy itself being a competitor is very, very smart. It's the correct response, instead of the lock-and-litigate strategy of the RIAA.
There's hope for TV yet.
A friend of mine, currently residing in London, has been downloading LOST from itunes for a couple of months, mostly because the UK is a full season behind on most American shows.
Personally, I think offering popular shows on the internet is a great idea, although one I'm not likely to take advantage of...yet. Yeah, I know, I'm way behind the times.
But really, even TiVo isn't perfect, depending upon how you have your season passes listed in priority, and if you have two programs on at the same time, you are screwed...I even I could probably be convinced to take advantage of downloading.
Of course, I would imagine anyone without high speed internet would be limited.