Dear CBS, Huh?

I don’t get it. You give me the distinct impression you couldn’t care less whether I watch your shows or not.

The season finale of Under The Dome was delayed by thirty minutes so the DVR didn’t record the entire episode. After watching what did record, I checked to see if the episode was available from AT&T U-verse on demand. I figured paying a cable bill might give me some perks I wouldn't get if I watched shows over the air for free. I figured wrong. NBC, ABC, and FOX all offer shows on demand. CBS, nada.

Next I tried downloading the CBS iPad app. Under The Dome wasn't available from there either, so I tried streaming it from the web browser on my iPad. I particularly like the way you detect I'm using an unapproved device and don’t make full episodes available.

Apparently, however, my desktop computer is worthy in your eyes—I just had to watch eight minutes of commercials to start where the show ended on the DVR. It was also much more comfortable sitting in front of my work desk rather than reclining in my La-Z-Boy.

And then I had the same problem a few days later. Another nice touch on your part: you change the name of Survivor every season by adding a subtitle, so every season the DVR has to be reprogrammed. Guess who forgot to reprogram the DVR?

So I missed the first episode which I won’t be seeing because, given your attitude, it’s more effort than I can muster.

You seem to think because you're doing better than the other networks in the Big Three, you can call the shots. The truth is you’re just the winner of the losers. The canaries in your coal mine are all dead. The early signs that you need to change the way you provide content have come and gone. It’s the miners who are keeling over now. People like me. The miners may not buy the coal from you, but without them you have nothing to sell.

So here’s some advice from the guy parents point at when warning their children of the dangers of watching too much TV: you’re mistaken if you think your shows are so addictive I’ll jump through hoops to watch them.

And when addicts won’t deal with you because it’s too inconvenient, you’ve got a big problem.

I feel jittery. Good thing I don’t have to wonder whether I can get a fix of Breaking Bad from Netflix.