With the upfront season finally over, let’s take a break from the self-congratulatory canapés and cocktails and talk about the dark secret nobody likes to mention: it sucks to watch TV.

Wait. What? It’s the “Golden Age” of TV! Shows haven’t been this good since… ever. Why am I complaining?

Actually, I love living in a world where the shows piling up on our DVRs, queues and watchlists far exceed what is humanly possible to view in one lifetime. Where the act of watching TV has gone from a waste of time to something few of us want to fritter away on anything less than amazing. And where television is increasingly being elevated into an art form by auteurs and execs with real vision.

No, it’s not the actual content that’s problematic. It’s the delivery system. Compared to digital platforms, trying to find and watch shows you want on multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) – formerly known as cable and satellite providers – is enough to make you throw your set-top box at your plasma screen in a Network-style rage screaming “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” It’s no wonder traditional TV viewing is declining, taking the ad market along with it (and those non-skippable ads aren’t helping). Worse, while video-on-demand (VOD) usage is on the rise, their menus are often a convoluted maze of rabbit holes you have to continually climb in and out of – when they work.

And while many other important factors are at play here, it’s no wonder cord-cutting is on the rise. Conventional TV viewing could be so much bigger if only it was easier. Here are 5 reasons why.

1. Cable and satellite user interfaces were designed by engineers, for engineers – not humans.

Back in the day when set-top navigation was a novelty, a proprietary hierarchy of menus and sub-menus made sense for people learning to use this new technology. We put up with clunky, highly architected ways to get what we wanted because we didn’t know any better.

But when search engines can get you where you want to go in three clicks or less, the tyranny of terrible navigation feels like the bureaucracy of a third-world country – arcane, inefficient and often, nonsensical. I was recently trying to watch a VOD episode of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown on Time Warner Cable, my local cable system in Brooklyn. When I got to the On Demand platform, not only was CNN not listed in the A-Z networks menu, but only by clicking on Animal Planet did I accidentally end up in the “Nature and Knowledge” sub-menu, which had a CNN tab for: all the CNN shows. Sound confusing? It was. And I work in TV.

I hear anecdotally that interfaces on other MVPDs are relatively better, which points up a critical part of this issue: there’s no standardization or continuity from one provider’s interface to the next. But from a cultural perspective, I also hear this: universally, it’s a much better experience to watch TV on other platforms.

2. Episode listings are unhelpful at best, and confusing at worst.

This might be due to the information provided by the networks, but there seems to be little to no standardization of how episode information is provided on cable and satellite interfaces. Searching for Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer on my system produces a variety of results – some for live viewing, some for on demand, but all of them a mishmash of listings requiring sub-menu navigation to find out if you’ve seen it before, if it’s a new or repeat episode, or if it’s the latest one. And because this current season (her third) is listed by date, instead of consistently labeling by season as S1 and S2 were, I was totally confused until my clever husband suggested we click on the topmost episode (it worked).

3. Binge-watching on VOD platforms requires tremendous patience and fortitude.

Just finished a great episode and ready to binge-watch the next? Most OTT platforms know that – and in one click you’re seamlessly continuing your marathon. But on MVPD interfaces, you slowly have to wind your way back through a rat’s nest of menus, laboriously re-telling the TV the same information every single time. It literally takes me 17 – SEVENTEEN! – painful steps to play the next episode of a show. That’s in contrast to ONE click on Netflix, which will autoplay anyway if you’re patient. And while many OTT interfaces are still janky, they’re still exponentially better, faster and more intuitiive. As one senior network executive told me, “the interface of VOD in cable has just been frozen in time. It’s like navigating a game system with an Atari instead of a Xbox.”

4. Apps aren’t delivering on the promise.

I was an early and enthusiastic adopter of my cable system app, which allows users to view TV and program their DVRs remotely. Until I started noticing that, much to my dismay, many of my scheduled shows didn’t bother to record. Lately this has been happening with alarming frequency and without any notice of conflict recording of other shows. This app needs an update – a series manager perhaps, and a conflict flagger for sure. Even then I still will consider recording to be a crapshoot.

5. No surprises.

Cable and satellite interfaces are designed with specific tasks in mind – a logical, linear sequence of steps designed to get you to your show (even if it’s convoluted and painfully slow). But what if you’re in the mood for finding something new?

Beyond the skinny promotional banners in the guide, there’s comparatively little to help a viewer discover something they might like – or alert them to a show that everyone’s buzzing about. Without recommendation engines, watchlists or visual displays of new content, these interfaces do little in the way to make browsing anything but work.

Conversely, the digital platforms know what I want before I want it. They rely on data, intuitive choices and curation to feed my TV addiction. They make it easy for me to indulge my love of TV. And other than live events (which I want to see) and commercials (which I don’t), I don’t see why I should continue to suffer with – and pay for – an inferior user experience.

No, I am not a Luddite. Yes, I may just suck at using my cable box. But I am the only one in the household that can wire up various component cables, HDMI, Ethernet, switchers and splitters to our TV set. Truth is, “average” Americans are only slightly more adept (or patient) at navigating these interfaces than they were successful at getting the blinking “12:00” off their VCRs. And digital superusers just won’t have the tolerance for last-gen devices.

Perhaps Verizon’s intent to acquire AOL is a step in the right direction – fusing the best practices of MVPDs and digital platforms.

Until then, I suppose I should take the time to really study my set-top interface. But I can’t spare the time. I’m too busy binge-watching my must-see shows on Netflix.

TruthCo. is a cultural branding and insights company, headed by CEO Linda Ong (pictured in top image), that analyzes the current cultural landscape to deliver actionable recommendations that keep entertainment brands and their offerings relevant.

Hear more from Ong at PromaxBDA: The Conference June 9-11 at the JW Marriott at L.A. LIVE.

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