"Your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to watch the spots." The executives for the networks (in which I include YouTube) believe

"Your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to watch the spots." The executives for the networks (in which I include YouTube) believe that you have a legal and moral obligation to watch their advertisements -- it's only a fair trade for supplying free, ad supported programming. By watching the show and closing your eyes and plugging your ears when the ads come on, you are cheating on your end of the deal and "actually stealing programming", and the networks have very powerful lawyers who will argue this very convincingly in court. You don't have the right to be a thief.