I record pretty much everything and fast forward through the commercials except when I forget to initially, which is why I just noticed the chick from Airplane! was playing a stewardess in a commercial for a store that likes to have cheesy commercials. The only way I watch something live (except sports, of course) is if it is the third thing on in that time slot and thus my DVR cannot handle it, but most of the time I will just watch that show later off the network website or OnDemand. When those options force commmercials on me, I read some other stuff on my laptop while the commercials play.
All the old folks who watch CBS are worth less money to advertisers, though, because they are set in their ways and not ever switching from Coke to Pepsi and are also less likely to go drop $11 on GI Joe 2. But CBS is the only network that really goes after older (as in over 30) viewers, so they get most of them and make plenty of money based on the volume. Until recently, each network went after different people (CBS - older, ABC - women, FOX - young males, CW - young females, NBC - wealthy) but then NBC decided to go after the lowest common denominator and spend as little money as possible in the process, hence the five nights of Briefcase Or No Briefcase and the 10 PM Leno show that sent the network into the toilet. Also, ABC decided to try airing some shows that men might actually watch.