> To date, the actual revenues from cable advertising, which totaled about $45 million last year, are minuscule compared with the $11 billion for over-the-air t

> To date, the actual revenues from cable advertising, which totaled about $45 million last year, are minuscule compared with the $11 billion for over-the-air television networks and stations. But scores of big companies, including General Foods, American Express, Procter & Gamble and Pepsico, are already cable advertisers, along with innumerable used-car dealers and other local businesses that can afford cable's relatively low rates. By 1990, according to Paul Kagan, publisher of several cable industry newsletters, cable advertising could exceed $2 billion. Stunning. We didn't have cable until the late 90s, and I don't have pay TV anymore, largely for this reason. "Premium" things are always dumbed down. First comes the ads, then the censorship. I'm not willing to pay for ad-laden, censored content, full stop. I happily pay for Spotify, but I won't pay for cable TV or XM.