I really believe that in the long run that this is a battle they can not win no matter how hard they try to fight it. That will try to fight it forever, but they will never win. There is just no way to take total control over the Internet. Their deep pockets will just keep them trying to fight it forever, but the inter web it too big and vast for them to beat.
It's a battle they might NOT win, but if they decide to sue everyone under the sun for even watching the videos, it's a battle EVERYONE will lose.
Maybe if these companies come up with GOOD ideas for television shows, it wouldn't be an issue. Sure, they can tread up stuff like Spongebob and South park... but for every buck they lose for having it "illegally" on the internet they get back for selling DVD's and people legally watching them. It's the UNPOPULAR stuff that's the problem. Otherwise, they'd actually go after people making profits off of selling their illegal video tapes and DVD's online. I laugh uncontrollably at the giant loophole in the copyright system that punnishes people using characters not for profit, while they seem to be all thumbs when it comes to handelling people who SELL pirated crap.
And yes... the internet CAN be controlled once the telecoms buy it up. Why do you think they're making a big deal about the net anyway? TV has become a wasteland of reality shows no one likes. These people don't care about the creative people they try to use to play off sympathies. if they did, they wouldn't have let the writers or actors go on strike,