Once upon a time, tens of millions of people would gather around televisions at the same time on the same night to watch the latest episode of whatever show was the current hot commodity. Everyone would share the same viewing experience—including the commercials, and the next day, they would trade notes on what they watched with their coworkers, often around the company water cooler. Heck, the biggest deal shows would even make headlines…in the daily newspaper that everyone subscribed to.
Then, things called the Internet and streaming happened, and everything changed. Now, we all watch different shows, at different times—often not on televisions but, instead, on tiny, powerful computers we hold in our hands and without the commercials whenever we can avoid them.