I thought pay tv in the US had no ads?? Is that not the whole point of it? Are there ad breaks in game of thrones and silicon valley and all the other hbo shows??
Regular bundled cable has ads. (What IS the point?) HBO is a premium channel you pay for beyond the bundle. It has no ads except lots of self-promo in between shows.
I believe HBO (Home Box Office) is different to most cable channels, most have lots of ads, HBO does not. I think.
Only premium channels like HBO and Showtime omit ads during broadcasts. However "regular" cable channels such as TBS and TNT retain them.