Networks must have eyeballs to be successful and particularly 18-49 year olds because that is where the money is for advertisers. Older people tend to have made up their minds on brands and stick with them. Younger viewers can still be convinced to try another brand. If the Learning Channel was all about educating us with biology and other education, the channel might not survive or definitely wouldn't be discussed as much as it is today. Networks don't mind controversy to a point and another thing is shock sells. Many people became rich on shock... Howard stern, Rush Limbaugh, Perez Hilton, and yes many families on TLC. And that is why TLC rebranded itself or one main reason. How many would watch the "investigation of the ameba?"

But then take "Morning Joe" on MSNBC. It comes in third - has miserable ratings, yet Morning Scumbag seems to have a leading role at MSNBC.

Can't imagine who (Cough, cough, Moredoch, Addledman.)

Didn't Microsoft own part of MSNBC? Are they still pumping money and programming there?

It must be that the owners like what they see and don't mind the lower rating. The company is huge and may be able to cover a few "duds". Just my thoughts.

There is only one channel on cable that consistently gets high enough ratings to be above the margin-of-error in Nielsen ratings: ESPN. Not ESPN 2 or 3.14159. Not even CNN or Fox News get enough viewers to be above the margin-of-error.

As a result, they really don't have a good measure of what does well on every other channel. They have a guess, backed by marginal statistics.

So they all chase around the latest fad, like reality TV and "Shock" TV, because it does good enough to not score a zero and make it look like the executives are doing something.

Reality is Honey Boo Boo scores about as well as the old educational programming. As far as we know.

The big problem they have now is the race-to-the-shithole means people who want better programming are either watching pay networks like HBO, or have abandoned cable TV completely. So they're left wallowing in deeper and deeper shit, competing for the same viewers instead of attracting different viewers.

Republican ties through Family Research Council and its operations.

EDIT: And Huckabee. It feels like Huckabee slime is all over this thing

I absolutely don't agree with the Duggar's religious or political views, and I think Josh Duggar should have gone through the juvenile justice system when he was first found out, but I have enjoyed learning about the different people they have shown on TLC. I still watch the Little Couple and My Big Fat Fabulous Life. It's cool that we live in a time when people who would have been shunned a few decades ago are now accepted by society. I think that is great. I have a bisexual atheist daughter with purple hair and an autistic son. Just a few decades ago they too would have been shunned but now they are accepted by their peers and don't have to be ashamed about being different.

I'm a former crime reporter and have actually seen myself in the courtrooms of some of the cases ID covers. LOL.

I'm also a fan of "River Monsters." There's a marathon going on right now. The fish Jeremy Wade (great name for a fisherman) catches are amazing.

with mental health issues. She is studying psychology in college. She is particularly interested in schizophrenia and loves watching shows about that mental health issue.

people learn about each other and the majority of people become more tolerant and accepting because of it. The Duggars are intolerant because they refuse to expose themselves to people that are different. So the cure is not to further isolate people. The cure is to keep telling people's stories.

they seem to do what they do for the money. That apparently people are tuning in to watch Honey Boo Boo and not to watch educational stuff about ants.

I joke about ants because when I had cable TV it seemed like I had some quasi-educational channel that always seemed to have a show going on ants. Every time I went searching for something to watch, there they were - talking about ants.

What can I say, I probably should have watched and learned about ants. I think I usually ended up watching a re-run of Cold Case or Missing Persons or some such.

is it part of the brand ?
To me alot of the cable chanels are media slum lords and I don't like slum lords .

Being a publicly traded company, with shares that trade on a major US exchange, opens the doors of your company to scrutiny.

Some of the largest firms that regularly flout environmental and other regulations are "closely held" or privately owned companies. Think Koch Industries.

It the company referenced in the OP was a publicly traded company, the bad things they do would reach the sunlight a lot faster.

Eventually it will lead to this:

three each UHF and VHF, and PBS on a clear day. With all the channels we have now so much of it is the same stuff. Entertainment was more varied with less.