Television Programs And How They Have Developed Over The Years
Popular TV shows are constantly changing from what they have been in the past. In the past prime time TV was scheduled with family sitcoms following the adventures of teenage boy dealing with typical teenage issues. Now the prime time programming is home to a Las Vegas Criminal Defense Lawyer, a team of attractive medical students, a criminal forensic scientist tormented by a past case, and a hardened New York Detective. Program focused on a likable, intelligent, and daring character in a fast-paced job or life, like the Las Vegas Criminal Defense Attorney type, seem to be the most successful character to base a show around and have almost completely erased the character of the teenage boy attending his first high school dance on prime time television.
An easily recognizable difference in present TV programming is reality television. Reality shows have become one of the main types of programming on TV. There are a variety of types of reality shows that have been created. Survival or adventure shows, dating shows, cooking shows, or shows following families. People find enjoyment in watching what is presented as normal people in real situations and production companies have used this enjoyment for profit. Most viewers, however, are not aware that production companies make these programs seem a lot more real than they actually are.
TV has also changed in the sense that sports are being televised more often now. As professional athletes become more and more like celebrities in their status and their salaries, the amount of programming created around sports has increased exponentially. A few years ago, there might have been one football game on TV, now there are two afternoon games and a night game, and there are potentially two games on for each afternoon time slot. Furthermore, a football game on TV is no longer just the game. Football becomes a day long event with pre, half time, and post shows.
Though football seems to be the main sport to take advantage of the chance to create extra programming, other sports are also being televised on the basic channels more often. Soccer, tennis, baseball, and basketball are all broadcasted during their respective seasons. If you start considering cable channels, sports that are not quite mainstream are being featured on the numerous sports only channels available, like bowling, archery, and rugby. Also with cable TV, college athletics receive their own channel.
Recently a trend in television programming is concerning talk shows. Talk shows have been a pretty steady type of TV programming; however, what types of individuals host the shows has definitely varied over the years. As of late talk show hosts, either during the day or late night hosts, are being picked because of their celebrity status or work on another program. Furthermore, talk show hosts, like professional athletes, are being recognized as celebrities. They are seen in magazines and at award shows, and are earning a very high salary.