Why Do We Pay to Watch TV?

I just realized today that it seems unfair that we have to pay cable companies such as Comcast or Adelphia for our service. Of course I understand that they are businesses who won't just deliver signal (and the whole infrastructure) to us for free, but if we're paying to watch channels, why do we also have to constantly watch a TV commercial every minute. It seems like commercials are so frequent that every 5 minutes of TV watching gets me 2 minutes of a show/movie and 3 minutes of commercial. The way that I see it is that I'm paying to get these channels, so my money should guarantee me commercial-free watching. After all, stations are getting hundreds of thousands of dollars for 30-second commercial spots. Clearly, the whole system isn't working too well since we (the consumers) still have to pay the cable companies.
The wealth-generating stations should be paying Comcast and Adelphia for providing service to my home. After all, if it weren't for us TV-watchers, the stations/networks could not brag about their large viewership numbers - which in the end is what secures them the large payments for 30-second ad spots.
So what we have now is consumers driving the wealth of these networks. We are stupid enough (or addicted enough to TV and the current status quo system) to pay our cable provider money so that we can watch the networks making money thanks to us watching their channels - after all, watching commercials is watching them generate huge profits (thanks to us, while we pay for it!). So my opinion is that the networks should be expressing gratitude for our willingness to sit and watch their shows by making them available to us for free.
I fully understand paying for channels like HBO or Showtime, since they have no commercials. I also understand that there are broadcast channels such as NBC, ABC, and CBS that can be picked up for free with an antenna - and I guess they have to make money via commercials - but what annoys me is that there are still tons of commercials on all the "cable channels" that we have to pay for.

If I had the power and widespread influence, I would urge everyone to boycott these traditional cable companies. I'd suggest getting an antenna (and with all the money you save you could get the best one out there to make sure you receive superior reception) or watching shows online. The only other alternative that I found, although I haven't tried it myself, is a service called Satellite Tube, which claims to be able to deliver channels from all over the world to your computer for one price.

We've become too used to the current system. We have failed to challenge it or to question it - and I think it's time to do so.