I think they were attempting to pursue a bait-and-switch strategy but ended up backing off. H.264 originally came with a "free for 5 years" license for certain kinds of non-subscription online video, which was renewed for a second 5 years in 2010. It was widely assumed that the intent was to start charging once everyone had been lured into being reliant on it.
It's currently offered "for free" to many people. That's one of the big arguments people always make in the H.264 vs. Google debate — H.264 is just as free for most users, and surely the MPEG-LA would never turn around and change that.
H.264, anyone?