"I feel like I have gone backwards in time"
You have. You have gone back to a time when providers and large companies did not have the luxury of scrutinizing my life and finely tuning their advertising to correspond to what they think my desires are.
And you know what, Tim ? As far as I'm concerned, it's going to stay like that. I want my TV to be a dumb box, because the dumber it is, the less you will learn about me.
And that suits me fine, because you're NOT my friend.