TV viewership fell in the last two quarters of 2014. During the fourth quarter, users streamed more than 5 billion hours of programming on Netflix.

OPINION

THERE are two large televisions in my house and free to air rarely plays on either of them.

The decline of free TV in our house was gradual. It started with the death of Patrick in Offspring, grew out of frustration with constant noisy ad breaks and finally died a spectacular death when Netflix arrived in Australia.

Television was once a big part of our lives. Those were the days of Packed to the Rafters, Offspring and Underbelly. Days when watching TV was an appointment and the ads were a chance to chat about what had just transpired. But the days of decent drama are gone and so is my attention.

There’s not one show on free-to-air I get lost in. Those types of shows are all on Netflix or Foxtel, like House of Cards and Game of Thrones.

Previously, watching a TV show meant you were in the loop for the next day’s “water cooler” conversation. This was a big part of the lure of reality TV when it first began. But these days I find office workers are more likely to come in and complain about how drawn out the final of House Rules was or how many ad breaks it took to get to the winner.

If TV leaves you feeling like you lost two hours of your life, why put yourself through the pain?

There’s nothing anymore that really holds my attention. The same shows are constantly being recycled — renovate, cook, find love. I found myself checking Pinterest and YouTube for renovation designs while watching The Block. The ad breaks were so long and the actual renovation content on the TV show so short that the ratio of internet-to-television gradually widened. Then there was no point even watching the show.

This gradual dumping of free-to-air doesn’t just relate to my demographic, free TV is also losing the next generation of viewers in my household.

The children now ask if they can watch Netflix or YouTube instead of free-to-air. Stampylonghead and his annoying “hello” is far more popular with my kids than Charlie and Lola ever were. As a parent, the ability to control what my children watch is also far easier when you aren’t beholden to the networks.

The problem, I believe, for free to air TV is that the alternative is just so much better.

With Netflix and the internet I can finally taste the grass on the other side of the fence. I watch the shows I choose without advertising and start them when I’m ready, not ten minutes after the scheduled time.

Sorry free-to-air, but it’s time I parted ways for good.