Television has been in a race to the bottom for almost a century. Profitability is the optimization target not viewer edification or self-reported satisfaction.

Television has been in a race to the bottom for almost a century. Profitability is the optimization target not viewer edification or self-reported satisfaction. The fragmentation of the media market means viewers filling out the long tail. Way back when there were three channels and broadcasts ended at midnight. Now niches are filled with YouTube channels that can have as few as a dozen views. The business model of monthly subscriptions incentivizes maintaining just enough quality and content updates to keep people from cancelling. Like World of Warcraft.