> Cable itself was originally the ad-free "premium" version of over-the-air television Often repeated but not true. Cable was originally just all the ad-suppor

> Cable itself was originally the ad-free "premium" version of over-the-air television Often repeated but not true. Cable was originally just all the ad-supported OTA stations delivered over a wire. It had ads on day 1. It would be over a decade before the first premium cable channels would launch, and even then most of the first channels also had ads.