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Can a large-enough audience, willing to pay for single episodes without commercials, be distinguished from the audience that wants shows free on Hulu?

The TV networks, especially the free-to-air broadcast networks, have always had trouble getting their heads around selling their shows directly to consumers. Long accustomed to viewing advertisers as their “customers,” they initially balked at selling TV shows on DVD, fearing it would undercut the ad-supported syndication market that had been their staple “after-market” distribution channel. They soon discovered, however, that consumers were eager for the convenience of watching re-runs on their own schedules and they were willing [...]