Earlier quoted context omitted.
> That will work until it very suddenly doesn't. Exactly. Once upon a time, cable didn't have ads, which was its primary advantage. Then they realized that they could charge money for the service and advertise to you.
> Once upon a time, cable didn't have ads, which was its primary advantage. To be pedantic: originally its primary advantage was allowing people who lived in bowls and other places that couldn't get adequate TV reception to watch broadcast TV. Later on, it became a way for those paid subscribers to get access to stuff that wasn't broadcast television.
Valid pedanticism!