A lot of people just have the tv on in the background, especially cooking and home shows or stuff they've already seen. I sometimes do that with This Old House or Jamie Oliver, but mostly not.
There is more stuff on tv, for free, than there ever has been. You have to be able to put up with commercials, but to see even a tiny bit of what is free by paying, you'd be paying A LOT of money every month.
I prefer no commercials.....or the model where there are less breaks, but as many commercials. But, let's face it, outside Netlix, it isn't clear anyone is making money on streaming. And shows are literally being taken off the air. This gives a lot of people the chance to see stuff, for free (other than the time they spend watching commercials). I'd guess this is MUCH MORE annoying to younger audiences that aren't used to this.
One thing I hate about this model.....is that most shows on dedicated channels are shown 24x7 in order. There is no way I can watch old Dr Who that way. I can maybe handle 3 episodes at a time. by the time I come back, they are like 20 episodes (at least) ahead. So any show where the timeline matters at all (and that's a lot of fiction), this model stinks for multiple reasons.
