It’s funny you should pose that question. When I was a kid, I remember when cable TV was just a rumor; and I specifically remember people posing the question, “why would I pay to watch TV when I can watch it for free?”
The sales pitch, at the time, was that unlike broadcast TV, cable programs would be commercial free! You (the customer) were paying to watch the programs, hence there was no need for commercial sponsors. It sounded good in theory. Alas, it was too good to be true. Cable arrived and it came with commercials. Talk about a bait and switch! Something similar has happened with cable & satellite radio: you are paying to listen to commercials.
I don’t watch much TV these days, but when I do watch, I’m pretty good with the mute button or otherwise tuning out commercials. So, no, I would not pay more $ to watch commercial free programs.
The very idea of it represents another bait and switch; commercials are already being woven into television programs in the form of product placement. Notice on American Idol that all the judges are drinking from visible and conspicuously placed Coca-Cola cups; this sort of thing is happening on sitcoms and other forms of programming. Product placement has been an official part of the movie business for decades.
You can’t get away from commercials so why pay for the pretense of doing so?
Do you know where, when, and why television was invented? It as specifically invented to deliver an audience to advertisers.
