It is why NBCU announced an effort to launch a new, mostly ad-supported streaming service -- consisting of live programming (including CNBC), on-demand and library programming, as well as third-party content.

There is just not much scale. Consumers aren't there in a big way. This happens a lot in TV land: There's big promise and theoretical possibilities -- and then a letdown.

Content sharing is part of modern TV media consumption. But how much is legal, quasi-legal and just downright illegal?

The argument of brand-over-program also goes to the idea of "safety" -- not just for consumers in finding shows they might like, but also for TV advertisers looking to safely run their media schedules.

Trump is at a net approval rating of negative 12.7 percentage points, looking at like-to-like length of presidential days in office through 720 days. Conversely, President Obama climbed into a net positive on the approval/disapproval numbers -- 1.9 percentage points.

Consumers are paying more for entertainment: movies and sports events are higher. Even with cord-cutting, many believe paying for TV isn't a luxury -- it's a necessity.

Netflix says the movie pulled in 45 million of its "accounts," those who watched at least 70% of the movie. But actual number of viewers? Hmmm... one, two, three per account? Netflix didn't go that far.

A world without Nielsen ratings? CBS, in theory, might be tempting that notion. The reality is that it is currently impossible to operate a TV network in the long term without Nielsen -- and without TV advertisers.

Gracenote's new video descriptors will label TV shows. Some of the terms include "rise to stardom" or "more conflict situations." Other shows will have more granular categories, noting moods, themes, scenarios and characters.

Linear TV consumption doesn't have the same tools to leverage more viewing -- although many traditional TV networks do have their own websites.