I sort of re-discovered this thread, hope it's not too old to post some thoughts...
I recently switched from cable to fiber for internet. We ditched cable TV years ago and only do streaming anyway. I almost felt bad for the poor lady at the cable company when I called to cancel after 44 years. She was so proud of the new, lower rates they had just announced that day, and was no doubt anticipating lots of great commissions for up-selling their crap. I tried to be as nice as I could, but I drew the line at letting her give me all the details on their new line-ups. The nicest way I could think of to say it was that I'm just tired of playing that game and want to give fiber a try.
I also want to mention an often-unrecognized option: YouTube.
Yeah, I know. The cesspool of the internet. But there is a lot of material out there, and mixed in amongst all the crap and click bait are a few gems. Find a channel you like and bookmark it so you can find it again. I've also been able to find full series of old-time TV shows when I'm feeling nostalgic.
The other thing I do which makes a difference is set my browser to delete cookies on exit. This way I'm not spoon-fed videos the algorithm thinks might keep me "engaged." (Which is their euphemism for angry and hateful.)
The down side is it can be a painful reminder of how low our society has sunk. If I watch, for example, a science-based video, over on the right I'm offered a long list of BS pseudo-science videos with scary thumbnails and shocking titles, trying to draw me down various conspiracy-theory rabbit holes. Apparently those are the things which keep the average American "engaged." Frightening.