ratings for the sitcoms you think would be the most popular (i.e., nbc thursday night like 30 rock, the office) are shit compared to the kind of numbers reality shows like american idol, survivor, dwts, etc. produce. other sopa opear-ish shows get better numbers also like greys anatomy and desperate housewives.

http://www.nielsenmedia.com/nc/portal/site/Public/menuitem.43afce2fac27e890311ba0a347a062a0/?show=%2FFilters%2FPublic%2Ftop_tv_ratings%2Fbroadcast_tv&selOneIndex=0&vgnextoid=9e4df9669fa14010VgnVCM100000880a260aRCRD

this is specifically true of the network serial. since the scripts are continuous, people like to watch several episodes in a series. therefore, most viewers would prefer to watch these shows online, where networks post "catch up series". unfortunately for the networks, they make lower rates on online ads than TV.

people say they have to "trade analog dollars for digital pennies" (i to this day have no idea why you would get a lower CPM rate for an online ad than a network ad, where you can highly target the consumer).

sports also get monster numbers, but nbc doesn't have nba, nfl, ncaa, or nascar (i think those are the four biggest sports ratings grabbers).

this is again compounded by the rise of cable ratings, which have been eating into network market shares for the past 10 years.

piracy doesn't help either.

tivo (or the prevalence of DVR) further reduces the value of their ads, cuz people skip them.

all these problems are generally greatest in the ever important 18-35 year old demographic.

http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/03/24/nbc-averages-fewer-than-6-million-viewers-and-crashes-in-the-demos/15057

basically, the networks aren't doing great (and im not going to delve into GE's 10Ks right about now, but I've worked at Disney, and it doesn't take a lot of time to realize that ESPN is that company, far greater in profit than the film studios, parks, Disney Interactive, CPG, and ABC, shit I think ESPN might be more profitable than all those put together.

peep the link from 2 weeks ago:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2009/05/disney-earnings-fall.html

soon, the presence of more "daily candy" kind of shows will grow. people prefer them cuz they are an independent hour of entertainment (i know this doesn't really apply to some of the reality shows like survivor or the soaps like desperate housewives, but it does for the comedy, sports, and csi type of shows). leno getting 10pm-11pm is evidence of this. nbc are thinking of adding a nightly weekend update show, to combat the daily show/colbert report, based on the success of their own thursday night SNL political thing during the election.

you can bet your ass there will be more and more reality shows coming out. i think they're bringing back who wants to be a $1M? with regis philbin, based on the renewed interest generated by slumdog.

it sucks they have to do this, but these kinds of shows are what people are watching. they make 30 rock and the office, those are progressive, weird, creative, artistic comedies (imho). and people don't fucking watch. and they spend crazy money marketing it.

i know fox bungled the marketing for arrested development, but how the fuck did people not watch that shit? that was so funny, and i always thought it to be somewhat seinfeld-esque, the most popular show of the 90s.

it fucking sucks that nbc and the networks can't succeed with this kind of programming, and i know my argument is crazy one sided, but in the end, i'm pretty happy with the state of recentish TV quality.

The Wire
30 Rock
Arrested Development
The Office
Planet Earth
Mad Men
Scrubs
LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON featuring the roots!
conan on the tonight show.
battlestar galactica
curb your enthusiasm
weeds
lonely island videos on SNL
a bunch of other shows...

i mean, i don't think we're in any sort of golden age necessarily, but come on? when has it been better than this? i was never a big fan of earl, but i like jason lee enough to know it had to be at least pretty good. it sucks it got canceled, but considering the way things are going with TV, im just glad to have the shit we got.

whew, that was a long rant. feel free to argue any/all of it.