Earlier quoted context omitted.
YouTube will push the needle to the extent Cable did and a new platform will be born. It's the circle of technology. Then the next video platform will feel like the YouTube of ~8 years ago. The maximally optimal value to the end user waxes and wanes throughout the business cycle, and unfortunately we're in the trough.
It's also key to note that had Cable NOT pushed ads as far as they had, they still would have been disrupted . It was a rational decision, since revenue today is often worth more than in the uncertain-for-so-many-reasons future. It's part of why you can't rely on the market or competitive forces alone, if you think something is an issue of public good, you need regulation.
Let's not pretend they weren't incredibly hostile to watching shows you're paying for already, when you want to and without the ads you paid to avoid, even though they didn't need to even build any infrastructure for it.
Add the rest of their anti-customer policies like bundling channels and it seems clear that their campaign to get rid of all their cable customers simply succeeded.