5 Sad Ways A&E Became the Walmart of Television Networks

[TeamPooka]

When it comes to things that used to be great but slowly became terrible, cable television network A&E doesn't even make the list. That's because there was nothing slow about their transformation from useful to useless. It practically happened overnight.

For the longest time, they were the network that aired two episodes of Biography every day while also delivering original, scripted programming that skewed toward a more history-minded demographic, like the audience you might expect a show like Downton Abbey to attract today, for example.

You sure as shit don't think of highfalutin Brits when someone mentions the "Arts & Entertainment" network these days, right? A management change in 2002 saw the network undergo a dramatic makeover. The "smart" stuff like Biography and anything history related that didn't involve gambling addicts pawning their possessions got transplanted to the Biography Channel and History Channel, respectively (and appropriately, I suppose). Meanwhile, A&E began focusing almost exclusively on lowbrow fare like Dog the Bounty Hunter and Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

That's the abbreviated story of how the cable network America used to rely on for its "intellectual" programming became the same one that currently finds itself at the heart of the Duck Dynasty controversy. Oh, hey! The debacle surrounding that show in particular is something I discuss at length with my Cracked co-workers Randall Maynard and Kristi Harrison, along with special guest comic Josh Denny, on this week's Unpopular Opinion podcast, which you can listen to right here if you're so inclined ...

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-sad-ways-ae-became-walmart-television-networks/#ixzz2pMdOZ9hE

[sinkingfeeling]

1. I remember when A&E, TLC, and Discovery had so many excellent,

educational shows on that I had trouble deciding which to watch. Now, my TV never goes to any of them.

[Squinch]

8. Did you see the Walter Cronkite produced series on TLC: Great Books? So awesome!

[TeamPooka]

9. great series!

[Squinch]

10. But it's nowhere. I can't find it anywhere. What a loss!

[alp227]

16. It's only available on VHS now from my search of amazon.com

But somebody uploaded some episodes on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYbocufkwRFCTzJBu-PaeS4Zitc76vtpd

[Squinch]

17. Oooohhh!!! Just the thing for a snow day! Thank you!

Cocoa for you?

[progressoid]

24. I'm watching (actually listening) to it now.

Thanks!

[Skittles]

18. same here, and it's why I ditched cable

until they give a la carte channels I am done with cable

[Aerows]

27. People still watch TV?

Yeah, that's why we don't watch it.

[DonViejo]

2. I well remember the early days of A&E, it was kind

of a PBS with commercials but the programming was excellent. I haven't watched A&E in years now. I guess it's gonna remain that way too.

[JVS]

3. It's not just the network, it's TV in general.

Other than a handful of networks who make premium programming (HBO, AMC, and a few others) TV has seen a huge number of educated consumers exit the marketplace in favor of getting their entertainment through the internet. I was sick a few weeks ago and decided to watch TV. I noticed that from 9:00 to 5:00 the local Fox channel had 8 one hour shows. All day long it was TV Court shows, wrapped up with Maury and Springer.

[Galileo126]

7. Agreed

Everything has been replaced with fake 'reality' shows, speculative pseudo-science crap, and (insert subject) wars shows. When was the last time you saw an actual documentary on a cable TV channel?

"History" Channel - UFOs and "sell your junk" channel
"A&E" - low-brow bubba TV (neither Artistic, nor Entertaining)
"Science" Channel - The manufacturing side of consumerism (aka - how shit is made)
NGC, TLC, TDC - All Alaska, all the time, but with contrived 'reality'. Personally, show me the wildlife and ditch the people.

It all started with MTV no longer playing music vids. So why should History show actual history? Science show actual science?


Current cable TV is a wasteland of stupid.

[Dawson Leery]

20. Aside from PBS, there is not much value in Television anymore.

"You sure as shit don't think of highfalutin Brits when someone mentions the "Arts & Entertainment" network these days, right? A management change in 2002 saw the network undergo a dramatic makeover. The "smart" stuff like Biography and anything history related that didn't involve gambling addicts pawning their possessions got transplanted to the Biography Channel and History Channel, respectively (and appropriately, I suppose). Meanwhile, A&E began focusing almost exclusively on lowbrow fare like Dog the Bounty Hunter and Gene Simmons Family Jewels."

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-sad-ways-ae-became-walmart-television-networks/#ixzz2pN56zuC1

Scripted shows which require writers cost more to produce, and the product is superior.

[Aerows]

28. PBS is as bad

as any network.

[Tikki]

4. The only show we have ever watched on A&E is Longmire. We have decided to wait this coming Season..

and hope it becomes available on Netflix, after awhile, like the other Seasons did.


The Tikkis

[BlueCaliDem]

5. Corporate "bait 'n' switch" tactic strikes again.

Keeping the masses dumbed-down is beneficial to the wealthy and well-connected. Draw them in with hard-hitting but entertaining documentaries that actually help educate the populace, and once they're hooked, slowly feed in the rightwing crap that will most assuredly kill off a few thousand brain cells at a time.

Arts & Entertainment (A&E) is nothing more than low-quality tabloid crap these days. And I mourn the death of quality programming it was once renowned for.

[mnmoderatedem]

6. don't forget the History Channel

that place became craptacular as well....

[Aerows]

29. Might as well

be the Hellhole Channel.

[Squinch]

11. Does anyone know if it's more profitable now? Did it really pull such a smaller audience when it

had all that great programming?

[TeamPooka]

13. Yes and yes.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/09/nancy-dubuc-promoted-at-ae-networks-will-oversee-all-networks-incuding-ae/

NEW YORK, September 13, 2012 – Nancy Dubuc has been appointed to a newly established role — President, Entertainment and Media, A+E Networks. Dubuc will now oversee all content creation, brand development and marketing for the entire A+E Networks’ portfolio including A&E Network, Lifetime and History and their affiliated brands. In addition, Dubuc will oversee A+E Networks’ International and Digital divisions. A&E Network President Bob DeBitetto and Executive Vice Presidents Dan Suratt and Steve Ronson will now report to Dubuc. The announcement was made today by Abbe Raven, President and CEO, A+E Networks, to whom Dubuc will continue to report. The appointment becomes effective immediately.

“A+E Networks is a leading global media company whose primary product is content,” said Raven. “Nancy is one of the most dynamic and creative executives working in media today. Having all our global brands and content creation under her purview brings a natural synergy given her track record of success.”

“A+E Networks has been my home for over a decade, ” said Dubuc.“ I am so proud of these brands and my A+E colleagues who are truly the best in the business. I look forward to this next chapter working with Abbe and leading the network teams to new heights, expanding our global footprint and increasing our digital content offerings.”

Under Dubuc’s leadership since 2007, History has secured its place as an unparalleled leader in the media marketplace with five consecutive years of unprecedented growth. With its slate of original programming, year-to-date, History is the #2 cable network in A25-54 and in the top five among all cable networks in A18-49. History has more hit series averaging over 1.0 million A25-54 impressions than any other network in cable.

more at link...

[Squinch]

14. Thanks. I went looking for something like this and didn't find it. Now I'm not sure I'm

happy to have it!

Alien Bigfoot Pawn on Ice is the leader in the media marketplace.

[TeamPooka]

23. Yup. A&E Networks is a joint venture between Hearst Corporation and Disney-ABC Television Group,

a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.

[SidDithers]

12. DU rec....

Love, love, love Cracked.



Sid

[Aerows]

32. You should put

in this post.

[sakabatou]

15. Same with TLC

It used to be The Learning Channel. Now it's full of shit.

[Seeking Serenity]

19. I remember when TLC was The Learning Channel

Now it's just Total Lemming Crap.

[Aerows]

30. Totally Loving Creationism n/t

[alp227]

21. From the Wayback Machine here's how A&E used to look on a typical day:

Last edited Fri Jan 3, 2014, 09:45 PM - Edit history (1)

May 10, 2000:

Morning: Begins at 6am with Simon & Simon then an Educational & Informational show. The rest of the day is mystery/crime themed shows like Night Court and Law & Order.

The primetime hours had Biography and other documentary type programming.

The week of Dec. 7 to Dec. 13, 2000:

On the evening of Saturday, 12/9 one could catch the A&E Original telefilm Catherine the Great followed by Sherlock Holmes Mysteries. While weekdays were devoted to the Law & Order type shows, weekends had PBS type programming like Travels with Harry (hosted by CBS News' Harry Smith) then Sundays had Breakfast with the Arts and House Beautiful .

March 6, 2002:

Educational & informational programming then repeats of old crime drama shows like L.A. Law and Murder, She Wrote mornings

Afternoon: Night Court and NewsRadio at noon then more mystery shows like Magnum, P.I. and Law & Order

Evening: Another hour of Night Court and NewsRadio then true crime documentaries in the primetime hours.

The 2002 A&E is less like the PBS type A&E of the '90s but at least this is far better than Duck Dynasty, Hoarders, whatever crap is on the modern A&E.

The week of Aug. 10-16, 2003:

The evenings had the documentary shows like City Confidential and Biography, and on Friday & Saturday evenings (Aug. 15-16) A&E played the BBC miniseries Pride & Prejudice.

Week of Dec. 14-20, 2003:

Evening highlights included Live by Request Starring Lyle Lovett and Horatio Hornblower.

Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1, 2004:

A&E counter-programmed the evening of Super Bowl Sunday with a Murder, She Wrote marathon. The daytime had This Old House , a presentation of the film Arthur, and other documentaries.

March 19, 2004:

The daytime had classic mystery shows like Poirot and Murder, She Wrote as well as the nonfiction City Confidential and American Justice. The shows were played twice on 8am-2pm and 2pm-8pm blocks. Primetime had Dirty Harry and the reality show Airline.

October 13, 2004:

Again in 8am-2pm and 2pm-8pm cycles: daytime programming is nearly the same but with the documentary More American Eats too. In the primetime is Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating .

April 6, 2005:

Daytime programming included an Investigative Reports program "The New Skinheads" and a City Confidential documentary "Berkeley: Murder in a College Town" about the murder case of Berkeley city commissioner Enrique Zambrano. Primetime has a reality show Knievel's Wild Ride and Monster Hoax: Operation Loch Ness.

November 12, 2005:

Now there's a 2-hour Growing Up Gotti marathon here but at least there's also Paul McCartney in St. Petersburg, This Old House , and science documentary Weather...or Not?

By 2006, A&E would go full reality TV and CSI: Miami repeats with the only "fine arts" show being Breakfast with the Arts, and that show would be gone by '07.

[Aerows]

31. Because greed is good

Intellect, not so much. Blind ambition, baby!

[herding cats]

22. Stupid sales on cable.

As has been mentioned here; TLC, DISC, and the History channels are all excellent examples of this fact. They used to be good, interesting and informative entertainment. Now they're all pure shite. Yet their profits are better when they sell the shite.

I don't worry about it anymore. I have the Internet and streaming accounts to use for my viewing pleasure. The thing is I'm not alone. Mark my word, cable as it exist today is losing the younger, tech savvy, educated market. They know this little tidbit, too. Or so I theorize, which is why they've stopped caring for the most part about our demographic under their traditional platform.

Times are changing, and you either adapt with the change or become obsolete. The cable industry is in its own way adapting to fit their audience, and investing in other venues to expand their reach to those of us who they've lost. After all, we may not be the majority of the market today, but that's not always going to be the case.

[TeamPooka]

26. That's right note the TV networks "Rural Purge" in 1971.....

As summarized for the Museum of Broadcast Communications:[1]

By the late 1960s, ...many viewers, especially young ones, were rejecting [rural-themed] shows as irrelevant to modern times. Mayberry's total isolation from contemporary problems was part of its appeal, but more than a decade of media coverage of the civil rights movement had brought about a change in the popular image of the small Southern town. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., was set on a U.S. Marine base between 1964 and 1969, but neither Gomer nor any of his fellow soldiers ever mentioned the war in Vietnam. CBS executives, afraid of losing the lucrative youth demographic, purged their schedule of hit shows that were drawing huge but older-skewing audiences.

The purge was instigated by CBS executive Robert Wood who replaced longtime CBS programming head Mike Dann with Fred Silverman, following research highlighting the greater attraction to advertisers of the younger urban viewer demographic.[2] Their lack of relevance was referred to in Gil Scott-Heron's 1970 spoken-word piece The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, which alludes to at least seven of the shows that are eventually cancelled as part of the purge, mentioning that as part of the titular revolution, the shows "will no longer be so damned relevant". Another factor in the purge was the loss of a half-hour of prime time programming each night as a result of the Prime Time Access Rule, which took effect in 1971; as a result of the new rule, the networks (all of which had started prime time at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time before the rule took effect) had to trim the equivalent of seven half-hour programs from their weekly schedules and give them back to the local stations.

The numerous cancellations prompted Pat Buttram ("Mr. Haney" on one of the cancelled shows, Green Acres) to make the observation: "It was the year CBS cancelled everything with a tree—including Lassie".[3][4]

The first rural-themed show cancelled by Silverman was Petticoat Junction. In September 1970, The Mary Tyler Moore Show premiered on CBS. All in the Family premiered in January 1971 as a midseason replacement. Both series provided the urban demographic, cutting-edge social relevance, and ratings that CBS sought.[citation needed] These ratings successes prompted Silverman and the network to cancel Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, Mayberry R.F.D., Hee Haw, Lassie, and The Jim Nabors Hour at the end of the 1970-71 season. Another series, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, lasted until the end of the 1971-72 season.

ABC also was looking for younger audiences, and in May 1971 cancelled shows that skewed toward rural viewers (such as The Johnny Cash Show) or older viewers (Make Room for Granddaddy and The Lawrence Welk Show). NBC also targeted rural- and older-oriented programs in its cuts, eliminating long-running programs such as Wild Kingdom, The Andy Williams Show and The Virginian, all of which ran nine seasons or more.

more at link...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rural_purge

[Lydia Leftcoast]

25. People protested on A&E's website when they began changing formats

So A&E responded by no longer accepting comments on its website.

Comcast keeps sending me "fantastic" offers for 12 months of cable at a low price (I dropped it completely in December 2012 after several years of basic-basic), but I look at my streaming and DVD options and think, "Meh."