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Streaming is cable now | Seventeen years after Netflix and Hulu kicked off a streaming revolution, it’s looking more like cable than ever. (www.theverge.com)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

I'm old enough to remember when cable didn't have ads. I was really young, maybe 5ish, but even then it was confusing to me when they started adding commercials. That was for bad TV with the antenna. Then it was only HBO that didn't have ads, but we couldn't afford that until I was much older.

EDIT: I guess my memories of being 5 years old aren't very accurate.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Basic cable has always had commercials along with the over the air channels. Premium channels didn’t.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yep, cable was first used to allow people to watch the same channels that were available over the air just from a more locations than what was available via antenna at their home (and with better reception), so it had the same commercials.

Premium channels were commercial-less for 7 or 9 years (can't remember exactly) before the first premium channel decided to start running adverts.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

There also used to be product placement ads during the shows too. I feel like that’s also more insidious when Jed Clampett and Granny are telling you every episode to smoke a Winston and eat Kellogg’s.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

You're right. I guess I was remembering premium channels and some niche channels that were cable-only. Most channels available on early cable were just piping non-local broadcast channels down a cable.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

If you got it over antenna, it most definitely was not cable.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

I didn't say I got it over antenna. I said TV with commercials was for TV that came from the antenna.