| SWORDF1SH said: Fair enough! But do you think the quality/quantity of TV has changed? We still get a lot of bad TV, same as 20 years ago. We get a lot of good TV, like 20 years ago. Personally I feel the quality has improved but that's subjective. Do we have figures for the amount of TV show commissioned now compared to 20 years ago? |
Well, I think the main networks in the US (ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC) are taking less risks now. They prefer reality TV shows, and aren't going for new ideas or shows which are different. On the other hand, cable networks are much more willing to take risks and experiment with new ideas. A big reason for this is because the costs of producing a show for the big networks is much more than for a cable network. So basically it costs less for a cable network to make the same show. And with the huge increase of cable networks in the past 30 years, we are seeing many new shows being produced. For this reason, I think the overall quality has improved, but we also have many more shows airing on TV. Its also a much more competitive viewing environment, so more money is being spent on the writing in shows.
In the UK however, you have 2 main networks - BBC 1 and ITV. BBC 1 is much less interested in high ratings and all revenue comes from the license fee. ITV on the other hand is the opposite. Their aim is to get as high ratings as possible which is probably why they cancel shows much more quickly. BBC are willing to try new things and develop and air shows which are different. The opposite is ITV which prefers dramas, soaps, and reality TV and mainly shows which appeal to young people (advertisers mainly care about people in the 18-34 demographics both in the US and UK).
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