The advent of cable TV, DVR & Tivo, and the Internet has drastically changed the television landscape today, and will continue to change TV in the future. Many of the current shows are available to be watched almost immediately on the Internet. DVR and Tivo allow viewers to zip over commercials. Cable TV has drastically increased the variety and number of television shows available to the average consumer, and thus it is difficult for shows to gain the raw numbers of viewers that were once possible.

As a result, every aspect of the television industry is being forced to adapt and change in order to survive, from the television production studios to the TV stations to commercial actors to the advertisers. Traditional commercials don't have the pull they once had. Advertisers are finding online advertising and official sponsorships as new ways of marketing their products.

Who can tell what the future will bring? More pay-per-viewing? More Internet viewing? More show recording? Television shows will always be a beneficial vehicle for advertisers, but those who do not adjust to the ever-changing television landscape are going to lose out.