The actual (and more sinister) answer is that consumers chose it, overwhelmingly, over years.

Alternatives existed. People thought they were getting more for their money with “smart” tvs, and bought those. It was fucking dumb, and nearly everyone participated.

Sony is out there with no ad/data platform to speak of, I believe? And projectors, I suppose. But there are almost no clean alternatives in living room appropriate panels. Even monitors are starting to go the way TVs did.