I was also a bit offended by the premise that TV (or video games) has any causal relationship with achievement. I think it's the other way around, some people are not ambitious and spend their idle time watching TV. But watching TV does not keep you from realizing your ambitions. Completely uncorrelated in my view.

I'm a high-producing programmer, and TV and video games play an essential role for me (as does exercise) to restore mental energy.