There's no fighting the future

In the '80s the mantra was "I want my MTV." Now it's just "I want my TV."

We can't get enough.

The average American watch five and a half hours of live television per day. Toss in DVRs, web videos, streaming on smartphones and tablets and that number climbs near double digits.

So it's not surprising that ABC is enabling viewers in New York and Philadelphia who subscribe to a cable service to view network programming on their mobile devices with their new Watch ABC app.

As live viewership in the home continues to dip thanks to DVRs and services like Netflix, networks have become less valuable to advertisers. Adding more viewers who can't skip commercials whether their in their living rooms, offices, or anywhere else helps support their ad revenue. Plus offering the service only to cable subscribers helps build subscription revenue.

It's not the answer to the networks' ongoing issues, but it's a move in the right direction.