Do you recall the days when once you paid for the TV set and the antenna, you got to watch two or three channels for free? We just got used to going to the kitchen or the bathroom during the ad breaks. Another bonus from those days was that everyone watched the same shows, so we could discuss them the next day. Even the news was universal, since it came on at 6 and 11 on every channel, and therefore everyone knew what was going on. Now selecting what to watch involves how much you are willing to pay, and that can be a frightening decision when you don't know what shows are worth it. For about 70 years, the entertainment industry has been working on ways to extract more money from each viewer. Matt Mitchell goes through that process for us step by step, decade by decade. You might relate to every one of these eras.