“None of that means they are paying for the free broadcasts.”
If you are one of the 86% of households who get their tv via streaming service, cable or satellite, you have to pay for CBS, ABC and/or NBC. It’s not free. If you are one of the 14% of tv households that has an antenna that can receive broadcasts, then CBS, ABC and NBC would be free.
Me and millions of others do not have antennas so to watch the Big Three, we’d have to pay for it.