At least in terms of having so much original and interesting content and pushing some boundaries that ABC, CBS, and NBC wouldn't dare go. Cable TV simply put, used to be genuinely provocative and creative because it wasn't under the hands of the FCC and many cable networks were niche and catered to genres. Now, it seems that Netflix, Amazon, Apple, HBO Max, YouTube, etc. serve the same function of creator-driven content without annoying censors.

But when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996) was signed (https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2016/02/08/was-the-1996-telecommunications-act-successful-in-promoting-competition/), all these cable networks (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NetworkDecay) (and many independent radio stations) got quickly bought out (https://truthout.org/articles/democracy-in-peril-twenty-years-of-media-consolidation-under-the-telecommunications-act/) by major corporations and became (https://uspirg.org/reports/usp/failure-cable-deregulation) shadows (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_drift) of their former selves. Whether it be, A&E, Bravo, MTV, Nickelodeon, USA Network, Sci-Fi, The Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Discovery Channel, and TLC.

Absolutely!

Hopeless as always: "death knell."

Hopeless as always: "death knell."

How exactly does a simple typo make me "hopeless as always", as if you're saying that I have a history of doing this? :rolleyes:

The Telecommunications Act also added two minutes of commercials to every half hour of TV, meaning two minutes of every old show would be chopped out, and newer shows would run for shorter lengths, forcing Americans to watch thousands of additional commercials every year.

It was one of the reasons I subscribed (or kept) Dish Network all these years: the built-in DVR lets me record shows and then fast-forward through commercials. I never ended up watching the thousands of additional commercials every year.

Another good reason to hate Bill Clinton for enacting this horrendous law.

Another good reason to hate Bill Clinton for enacting this horrendous law.

Yup.

It also ruined the networks in addition to cable. It was a major factor in ruining television as a whole.

The Telecommunications Act also added two minutes of commercials to every half hour of TV, meaning two minutes of every old show would be chopped out, and newer shows would run for shorter lengths, forcing Americans to watch thousands of additional commercials every year. .

It actually added a lot more than 2 minutes of commercials per half hour. If channels want to they can show only commercials because of it. And some of them are almost there. In addition it allowed every unsavory outfit to be allowed to advertise.

Another good reason to hate Bill Clinton for enacting this horrendous law.


One reason why I do not li!me him and did not vote for his old lady in 2016.

Yep had to make sure he paid back the big three and the major studios for the whitewash job they were doing in regards to him.