Peacock is the latest major streamer to see subscriber growth fizzle. Growing evidence points to inflation and cord-cutting benefitting cheap and free ad-supported streamers far more than SVODs.

Due to broadband saturation, achieving CTV and SVOD growth in North America will be increasingly difficult and costly from here on in.

Still, "It is quite clear that constant growth for [paid] online video is by no means guaranteed," notes Adam Thomas, senior principal analyst, Omdia.

Television, that quaint term for moving pictures in a box, has roots in the 19th century, and it has been advancing ever since. I recall black-and-white television back in the 1950s: "Leave It to Beaver," "Lassie," "The Lone Ranger." Growing up in the middle of Connecticut, we used tin foil on the set's antennas to tune in to stations up in Hartford and down in New Haven.