Originally Posted by Relentless

A show is generally good for X number of episodes from debut to series finale. You can release that many in one day or over 7 years. The pace is dictated by monetization more than anything else. Netflix makes a big deal out of letting people binge, but their pace is no faster than networks... They give you a season all at once but they don't give you more per year than a once a week show.

It used to be possible to hold an audience for months so 20 episodes were supported by weekly ad revenue. Now shows struggle to hold an audience for two months while piracy, DVRs, and media proliferation obliterate the ad revenue.

The result, just as in porn, is less content, weaker content, more re-runs, fewer worthwhile shows, inane 'reality' programming and the rest of the dreck that litters the line-up. The worst episode of BCS is light years ahead of the best episode of most shows on television. But you can earn more running the knife show and selling hunting knives to inbred asshats with insomnia at 4AM than you can make by adding another BCS episode to your weekly lineup.