The BBC reported earlier in the week that he received £500,000 as an advance, and later wanted to cancel the contract but had, by that point, spent the money (and didn't intend to repay it).
The reference to that amount has been removed since - I don't know why. Either way, if the above is true it's laughable that he should have any complaint. Enjoy your half a million (and royalties - they are honouring the contract you signed).
I would. Presumably the less informed will have to endure the ads, but I and others like me with the know-how will find a way to skip them if they are too intrusive. One or two 30 second ads... maybe I wouldn't even bother skipping them.
I don't know what the situation in the states is right now, but in the UK the majority of the big channels have Flash-based streaming versions of their shows available online very soon (hours) after they've aired (in the case of the BBC some of the shows are available live). The BBC is publicly funded - so no ads - but ITV and Channel 4, the other big players, do have ads, and most people, anecdotally, have no problem with this given the convenience.
I still download episodes of US shows I or my partner enjoy regularly, but if the networks were to offer these shows on their sites with ads I'd be more than willing to watch them there.
For overseas viewers the problem, as other posters have mentioned, is region locking. If the show is sold to overseas markets they cannot then offer the show to viewers in that market. The model needs to change and incorporate revenue sharing with these other markets - but history has shown us these big businesses are unable to do this sort of thing in a timely manner. And that could ultimately be their downfall.
The reference to that amount has been removed since - I don't know why. Either way, if the above is true it's laughable that he should have any complaint. Enjoy your half a million (and royalties - they are honouring the contract you signed).