I have a 'kill 2 birds with one stone' kind of solution for you.

Get a DVR.

I don't watch much television because I cannot stand the "hypochondriac, something is wrong with me and I'm not going to live past this week" advertising that plagues US cable and air channels, but in order to prevent seeing these ads and wonderlessly surf through channels looking for something to watch I use my DVR.

You know what shows you like, you know what TV shows you'd like to see or what series your into, you know what genres of movies you want to see, you may even know what actors, directors or even exact title you want.

Program that into your DVR, and when you sit infront of your TV your shows and movies will be ready for playback. You can pause, rewind and most importantly (for me) fast forward through the ads.

I think if you get your TV time in high quality, conentrated sessions, you may find that you watch less TV... or then again, you may watch more and more :)

Good luck to you! Hope this helps. Itay.