Okay, can someone explain this to me in a was that is not snide or insulting?

I work at a local NBC station in Wisconsin. We share a broadcasting center (and building) with the local Mynetworktv station (formally the UPN affiliate). This station has 12 hours a day (weekday) of "Paid Programming" informircials, 5 days a week (about 10 hours on weekends). My question is WHY would they do that?

This station has the rights (and in storage episodes of) shows like The Simpsons, X-files, Malcolm In The Middle, Roseanne, CSI etc... and tons of old movies from the 70's, 80's and 90's. They usually air 1 episode of those shows a day and thats it, then the Mynetwork stuff, then all "paid programming".

Why fill literally half of the broadcast day with infomercials? You can't tell me that the "paid programming" will generate more money then commercail time for another Simpsons episode or a movie can you? How can these things pay more then the revenue from showing old TV shows and movies? NO ONE I have ever met has watched one of these "paid programs" and purchased the snake oil so can these things make enough to keep this **** up?

Is this deluge of "paid programming" happening at other small stations around the country?

At this station I am talking about, back in the 80's they had tons of second run syndication programming like Growing Pains, MASH, Hill Street Blues etc... and first run programming like War Of The Worlds, Tales From The Darkside, Star Trek: The Next Generation etc... that I watched all the time, now, unless I see the station while I at work, I never watch it. They even lost out to our local FOX station on those new old Star Trek episodes.....

Is this the sign of a TV station on it's way out?