You can watch pretty much anything you want on an existing AppleTV set top unit. If you're technologically adept in the slightest you'd know this. It does not take much effort to do this. Will Apple take over the cable/satellite providers? I do not know. But somebody will and it will happen fairly soon. I for one cannot wait. If it wasn't for my wife's fears of anything other than a standard remote, I'd have dumped DirecTV's overpriced service and archaic equipment ages ago. I for one haven't watched a single thing on DirecTV in about 6 months, yay for his and hers TV sets.
The thing is that the cable/satellite co's have had a stranglehold for ages and it's finally being threatened. Why anyone still clings to the notion that paying through the nose for a package, when you actually watch a fraction of what you pay for is a good thing, is way beyond me. Yes DirecTV has a great picture, but more and more people are realizing there are other ways to achieve this. This isn't so much about eliminating these companies as it is about forcing them to readjust their packaging and pricing.
You may not like Apple, I do. You can claim that Apple has not done much, as much as you want. This only makes you as ignorant as the fanboys. Apple has done something and that thing is right, they have made accesible products that work, that people want. You seem to forget that Hey you "give" Apple credit for consumer demand, but last time I checked, consumer demand only drives any industry.
Where all the Roku's/Boxee's/Google TV's have failed, Apple or somebody else will succeed. All it will take is one broadcaster in your list of THREE to get in line and the rest will fall. Last time I checked iTunes had a pretty extensive list of offerings from the major studios too. Cable and satellite companies are losing customers, more and more people are opting out. They know this and are seeing it in the numbers. Companies like TW can still make a profit on broadband services. What exactly will a satellite company do when it hits the fan? Every time I call into DTV to aks a question, I always ask when my contract is up, I'm licking my chops to drop them and I tell them this. We've been with DTV for about 10 years. They literally THROW discounts at me. How much longer can they do this? I've already dropped my bill by 60% over the last 6 months. With AppleTV I have MORE to watch than I ever did with the Premium package of DTV. And I watch what I want, when I want it. Can I afford DTV? Yep. Do I want to keep funneling them money for a majority of services and channels I do not want or need? Nope. There comes a point where you just realize that it isn't worth it.