> We are not doomed to this fate. TV has gotten better because we have decided its worth paying HBO and the others. Do keep in mind, though, that it used to be

> We are not doomed to this fate. TV has gotten better because we have decided its worth paying HBO and the others. Do keep in mind, though, that it used to be that way in the past. It's a cycle that led to steady price increases since the advent of TV. Once upon a time, people paid for cable TV to spare themselves of ads. Fast forward a few years, and cable TV operators noted that they could get away with having people pay for their content and show ads, all while publicly funded TV channels were steadily starved of cash. Fast forward yet another few years, and the same cable TVs are charging for these cable channels and for premium channels such as HBO. Meinks in a few years, cash starved cable TV channels will be so crappy that viewers will begin to tolerate ads on premium channels. This will open the gate down the road for yet another round of price increases -- possibly something like paid shows with two prices, one with ads and one without. At the same time, the coming generation will quit TV altogether (if they have ever used it to begin with) and tolerate ads while watching movies on their smart phones and tablets. The only real question is what type of ads these will be. The paper hints at what probably lies ahead: sponsored content and product placement.