Brandon's Answer

1. Conglomerates. As a result, media outlets such as Viacom have made for a lack of variety in television, and explains why you see the same shows on MTV, BET, and VH-1, just catered to a different demographic.

2. Increased emphasis on making money (squeezing commercial time), and less emphasis on entertaining viewers. As a result, you see more and more obtrusive graphics telling viewers how to watch TV (i.e. corner pop-up ads and "scrunched" closing credits).

3. Reluctance to try anything new. As a result, you see a lot of the same stuff, and networks simply copying what works for everyone else. That explains the reality/unscripted shows with a) has-been celebrities 15-20 years past their prime or b) home makeovers. There's also the primetime game shows, which look more and more like "Deal or No Deal" (obnoxious contestants, ominous-looking sets, pregnant pauses to find out the answer to "Who was our first president?")