If you are watching cable, it is definitely not free. Yet you are still seeing tons of annoying ads.

If they can't make any money by charging directly for programming, they deserve to fail so someone else will do it - this is not hard

Here's what's wrong with TV.

1. You have to buy specialized hardware and cannot watch on other devices (phone, netbook/tablet/portable gaming device, normal laptop or PC)

2. The programming is virtually all terrible, boring lacking in artistic or educational merit, etc. The "news" is fluff and propaganda which may actually leave you less informed for watching. Your only recourse is to change to another channel with the same kinds of dreck.

3. TV ads are constant, annoying, obnoxious, and loud. But Google makes piles of cash, so this is obviously not the only model available

And these things are still true if you pay $80/mo for cable.