Creator here. I add the static to mask the video buffering ( since each channel change triggers a video load ) I'm flattered though that you think of me as young. I very much was a child of the '80's :D

You could add a "high bandwidth & low latency" mode, where when active, you load the current video + the next one. So when the user goes to the next channel, it's already playing but muted and not visible, and you start playing the next-next channel hidden again :)

It's so weird watching the era you grew up in fade into oblivion then return as an aesthetic.

Do you think the TVs before that were digital or hydraulic? Or what does the world "analog" mean in this context?

That doesn't explain a thing. The "static" came from weak signals or not tuning properly. Before digital TVs were a thing, analog TVs already had digital tuners, and suppressed the display while switching channels. Analog TVs are not synonymous with static while changing channel.