I've noticed various TV's/TV networks dropping pause/rewind etc and even making the off switch hard to access; it feels as if they want more control for them (and less for the consumer). Especially given the financial clout of the advertising business, anything that allows users to pause and fast-forward through ad breaks would be in their crosshairs.

It reminds me of loopback recording on soundcards disappearing; if I'm not mistaken that was directly due to industry pressure.