He didn't fail. He did what the board asked of him which proved to be more unpopular than they all had expected. So they gave him an obscenely generous severance package and sent him on his merry way.
He's been rewarded and they're just trying to position it so it looks like the company leadership gives a shit and won't try the exact same thing at a later date.
It's really not free. Piracy is still a bit of a chore. It's just less of a chore than juggling a dozen streaming services, shitty and inconsistent apps and playing the whole "what major corporation's subscription service has the rights for this show?" game.
They ought to try sucking less.