This is one lesson that the industry has already taken to heart. Traditional business models dominate the economy because they have stood the test of time. But most apparently new models have been tried before. Take the radical breakthrough in advertising that the web supposedly allows. Advertisers can now track every click, and pay media owners only for the ones that deliver customers or at least warm prospects.
Advertisers pay the TV station only for orders or inquiries that the advertisement generates.
It works, but it is marginal - because it is not in the interests of TV stations to devote any but the least valuable airtime to such a proposition. The clear winners already starting to emerge among the web media will pursue a similar approach as soon as the bargaining power swings their way. Some of the new internet business models may yet attain lasting success. Consumers like the predictability of posted prices. Some dotcoms that touted new business models turned out to be using time-honoured techniques in a new wrapper.