If you guys have been watching, they just did a show where they were out in my neck of the woods and went to Atlantis Marine World. The complanning and questioning immediately started on our local forums and the owner of Atlantis, Joe Yaiullo, who's also the head of my local reef club chimed in on the conversation and really defended these guys. He brought up that the cycling process doesn't make for good television, other than for those already in the hobby. He also stated that we are not being shown and told a lot about the filtration, but if you pay attention, they're very often using bio balls and they're usually "seasoned" or "cured" or whatever term you'd like. He brought up that while they can't show everything, they're bringing a whole new audience to saltwater aquarium keeping, and hopefully experienced hobbyists will be there to guide these newcomers in the right direction.
Now to throw this in, not saying it's correct or the "accepted way", but I have tossed bagged sand and a few pieces of cured live rock in a new tank, floated fish, tossed them in and had no losses. It can be done, it's just frowned upon.