That's the sticking point. It's easy to see why folks expect free online content. That's all they were getting back when Wall Street didn't mind subsidizing the losses for Internet upstarts. That song no longer remains the same. There is also the couch potato mentality.
Someone pays the monthly cable or satellite bill and expects hundreds of channels.
He may not realize that the cable company has to foot the bill for part of the network programming. By the same token, someone will pay the monthly access fee to an Internet service provider, but not realize that the service doesn't share its take with the content sites. The websites are on their own to justify their existence. That is why so many seemingly popular properties have been rained out. Meanwhile, RealNetworks continues to build its prized user base and extend its entertainment network.