They are not free, they still make money from commercials. Same as radio. In some countries, there are public broadcast channels that don't display commercials,

They are not free, they still make money from commercials. Same as radio. In some countries, there are public broadcast channels that don't display commercials, those you pay through tax. With cable and satellite they often put their own commercials on top of the channel's so public broadcasting channels make less money that way.