Since VCRs (invented 1975) and the more recent digital recorders such as TiVo give viewers the ability to record television programs and watch them when they choose, a phenomenon known as “time-shifting” has emerged. As Americans watch previously recorded programming, they miss prime-time broadcasts. Commentators mused that Americans were losing a sense of community—gone were the days when office workers would stand around the water cooler to chat about last night’s episode of a popular program. Since these recording devices also gave viewers the ability to fast-forward through commercials (a practice dubbed “zapping”), they posed challenges to the advertising industry.