That headline is a little sensationalist - only their web- and email-accessible clips have to be that resolution.
The guidelines say that "a monitor may send to a customer who requires immediate access a video ... as an email attachment with a resolution no greater than 320 pixels by 240 pixels", and then has a similar restriction when it comes to "video excerpts of CBRA programs in a password-secured database" (which, incidentally, must be removed from that database ten days after the show was broadcast). There's no restriction on the resolution of the products that the monitoring companies sell (s.6); only on how recently the clip's been aired - these companies have to get rid of their clips a month after they're broadcast.
Most media monitoring contracts are based around keywords and/or concepts - your contract could cover, for example, all clips on CBCNN/SunTV/CTVNN that deal with the regulation of biofuels. You'd then get a daily/weekly list of monitoring notes (a small description of what's in each clip), and from that, you could order the clips you're interested in at full resolution. If you want to do anything with these clips - like turn them into promos or send to your clients - you could then go to the rights-holders and see if they'd license them to you.
The clips that the headline refers to are effectively high-end versions of these monitoring notes. They're designed so that the analyst can get the gist of what's been said in the clip/see the visuals, and from that, they can make a decision about if they want to order the full-resolution product. Think of them like video thumbnails for full monitoring products.
The point of all these regulations is to very clearly restrict the business models of media monitoring companies. It gives them license to legally store, transmit, and distribute copyrighted content without dealing with individual broadcasters - but only enough so that customers can identify what they're interested in, and then contact the rights-holders directly for access to that content.