Before the 90s. I think the best time for cable TV was between 1982 and 88. MTV wasn't crap. The History Channel had actual history shows and the Discovery Channel always had top notch science shows. We also had "Night Flight" on "USA's Up All Night." They would run back to back episodes, starting at 9pm on Saturday nights and ending around 4-5am Sunday.

Anyone who remembers 80s cable TV should feel incredibly ripped off by what they're showing today.

[–] JIMMERZ@lemm.ee 4 points 2 months ago

I remember these days. Cable felt really special. Then the ads, and every channel became reality TV and less about what the channels original purpose was. TLC is all trash TV, History is all ancient aliens and conspiracy theories now. YouTube sorta has brought that back, but for me the premium subscription is too expensive. I have a subscription to Nebula where a lot of YT creators have channels and it costs far more reasonable.

[–] BowtiesAreCool@lemmy.world -3 points 2 months ago

So, you’re actually viewing the past with rose tinted glasses here. There was never a time when basic cable was completely ad free. There was certain channels that started ad free, and some like HBO only ever showed ads for their own content, but there was always ads. TV now is very different and arguably worse, but not for that reason.