The Shifting World Of Television Programming
Popular TV shows are constantly changing from what they have been in the past. A decade or two ago prime time TV was scheduled with family sitcoms following the life 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 featuring a likable, intelligent, and daring character in a fast-paced job or life, like the Las Vegas Criminal Defense Attorney type, have the most success lately and have almost completely erased the character of the teenage boy attending his first high school dance on prime time television.
An obvious change in television programming is the sudden explosion and obsession with reality television. There always seems to be some form of reality TV on throughout the day. Reality TV consists of a wide variety of subject matters. There are shows are concerned with survival, finding true love, cooking, or day to day family life. People find enjoyment in watching what they believe is real life and production companies have used this enjoyment for profit. What isn’t made apparent to most viewers is that most of these real people in real situations are not as real as they are presented.
Another change in TV programming is the number and variety of sports that are broadcast now. Because professional athletes are reaching celebrity statues lately, 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 typically, there are two games on your TV during each of the afternoon games. Now when Football is televised, it is not simply 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 gracing the basic channels more often. Soccer, tennis, baseball, and basketball can all be found during their respective seasons on basic channels. If you start considering cable channels, the more obscure sports are being broadcast on the numerous sports only channels available, like bowling, archery, and rugby. Also with cable TV, college athletics receive their own channel.
A more recent fad in television programming is concerning talk shows. Talk shows have been a consistently present on television; however, how the hosts are chosen has definitely changed over time. Lately talk show hosts, either during the day or late night hosts, are being picked because of their already established name of some sort. Moreover, 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.