I knew this myth was going to be repeated as soon as I saw the parent comment. Basic cable has never been ad free. Cable started out as a method to get broadc

I knew this myth was going to be repeated as soon as I saw the parent comment. Basic cable has never been ad free. Cable started out as a method to get broadcast TV - with ads - to people who couldn’t get it over the air. Then the “Superstations” came like TBS and WGN. They were local stations - with ads - that got transmitted nationwide. Then the early cable TV only channels came online like CNN, ESPN, and MTV - with ads.