Reality TV is my drug of choice. I suppose it could be worse. At least reality TV is legal, readily available and fat free. Last quarter I managed to satisfy my cravings with multi-tasking — running on the treadmill at the gym while watching “America’s Next Top Model” and “Survivor.” It alleviated the guilt factor because I wasn’t taking time off from my studies to watch TV, I was working out. Yay for creative rationalization!

But this quarter I have a dreaded night class. A night class during “The Bachelorette,” a delightfully cheesy show that taps into my deep-seated desire to be able to pick and choose among a group of men. Yes, I know it will never happen, but it is fun to pretend that I will someday be in charge of my own rose ceremony.

Night classes are so wrong in so many ways, especially in the middle of winter when it’s dark even on the way to class. But the real problem is that I don’t have the resources to control my TV. My TV still controls me.

Now that I have an iPod, my music is under control. But my TV set-up leaves a lot to be desired. My dying VCR didn’t make the traveling team when I moved to Evanston. I watch DVDs on my laptop. I can’t get TiVo because I don’t have a LAN line. I am one of the have nots.

I understand that advertising pays for network TV broadcasts. Without advertising revenue, ABC wouldn’t be able to produce “The Bachelorette” and broadcast it at the same time as my Monday night class.

But why does ABC have to get its advertising revenue from this show at 8 p.m. on Monday nights? Why does ABC have to limit me so much by giving the show a specific, very limited time frame? I think the major networks could benefit themselves, advertisers and the viewing public by broadening their product definition.

Why does ABC have to be a provider of just television programming? If they expand their product definition to just being a provider of entertainment, they could bring me “The Bachelorette” as a streaming video program over the Internet. It could be at any time, and they could still force me to watch the commercials. I would be far less bitter about the commercials because I would have the convenience of watching my show when I want to watch it. And ABC could collect information about me and use it to target the right commercials to me.

TiVo already has given flexibility to its customers, but it has done so by letting them skip the commercials. The networks have lost control of their shows and advertising. There is no reason that networks should stand by and let this cannibalization of their business continue. Providing customers with what they want when they want it can still be profitable.

Amanda Wolfman is a Medill graduate student. She can be reached at [email protected].