Offering content is the first step. With the changes that are taking place in the information superhighway, BigCo publishing will likely see the trend soon, and begin to open up their own content. This announcement demonstrates the momentum:

By the end of this year, the contents of all 1,800 courses taught at one of the world’s most prestigious universities will be available online to anyone in the world, anywhere in the world.

See: Open content at MIT, Tufts University, Utah State University

And, with help from tools like the OpenCourseWare Finder, we are approaching an open field.