because I no longer watch TV.

Television is primarily a tool to sell people stuff. Period. One way or another.

Smart...it's a waste of our valuable time to watch this junk on TV...unless it's a really good PBS station (we do have in STLouis MO) an excellent one (4 channels), which I find most of the time worth recording, w/ no commercials, thank goodness.

The rampant commercialism/advertising is getting a little much...

The Expanse is really, really good. Not as good as the books, but damn. I could listen to Shohreh Aghdashloo read from a phone book all day. I just catch it when it comes out on DVD. One of the perks of working in a library.

We pick our battles, in the end.

I don't even watch network TV now due to the ads. I record the satellite shows I keep up with so I can FF through the commercials. One of the reasons I haven't done away with my HBO is because they don't break with ads.

Fuck Outbrain and Taboola! And even some websites are now begging you not to use Adblocker!

and this is the third time in my life I've gone long term without TV. I doubt I'll ever have one again.

Meanwhile, the bombarding ads on the internet is making me consider not bothering with many sites. At least here on DU I can pay some money and not see them.

It used to be that when I stayed in a hotel I'd turn on the TV for a bit. I no longer do because I simply cannot abide the ads.

His FCC removed limits on amount of commercial time per hour. And they abolished the Fairness Doctrine, which gave us Fox News.

He sure didn't get my vote!

recently appointed FCC commissioner (Ajit Pai) throws the FCC commissioners (five of them) to republican control ...

-probably more commercials (hard to believe how they could get more in), less public svc. announcements, less PBS-type stations, etc.

-net neutrality threatened...

-and I wouldn't be surprised that they would try to squeeze out more digital channels out of the existing bandwidth out there now serving the broadcast and internet spectrum (which is pretty limited, bandwidth-wise)...thus, worse reception/more interference (fewer bits being sent per signal, increased possibility of signal disruption), more commercial channels, etc.

-also, commission may rule that interconnect agreements between carriers and the beneficial provisions in them may not be available to all comers / other start-up carriers, w/o substantial fees, thus higher costs for start-ups, etc. (usually a beneficial provision in an interconnect agreement is available to other non-signatory carriers when they approach a carrier for business, regardless if they signed or participated in the interconnection agreement)...

and so on...

I watch everything later and skip through all the commercials...
It's very pleasant and takes way less time.

Remember how great the internet was BEFORE Taboola, Outbrain, Revcontent and all that other bullshit appeared? Remember how great TV was before advertisers took it over?

I love TV; I watch it all the time. I have the full lineup from Comcast, Netflix, Amazon, and all the stuff on Amazon Fire, which is a considerable amount of programming.

Here are the rules, however:

--every time a commercial break comes on, mute it, and get up and do something, like sweep the floor, put dishes in the dishwasher, run some trash out to the bin, vacuum a stretch of carpet. With all the commercials, you can be really active.

After a while, you get a sense of how long the commercial breaks are and you can come back into the room at exactly the right time.

Also, if the plot line tolerates it, you can do stuff like sew on a button or clean a fan while watching.

--watch only the good stuff. I research everything we watch, which is mostly documentaries, political humor, like John Oliver, and mysteries and crime shows. Also thrillers. Some comedy. My idea of a great show is "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul."

I don't think I have ever watched a sitcom in my entire life, and I am a baby boomer.