The television channel is dead

This is hardly new, and I don't really watch TV, even when we did have directv I hardly used it. But what I have seen developing is kind of sad.

First there was the television, then there was the television channel, like ABC or CBS, then there was cable, then there was the premium channel, like HBO and Showtime, and as TV began to cough it's last feeble breaths there came the niche channels, catering to wafer thin segments of the population. Some of the programming on these channels was was good, some of it was very good. Wow, TV was good? Tell me more gramps.

Then something awful happened, driven by filthy lucre as many awful things are, these niche channels started slipping in programming completely unrelated to their niche.

What used to be a few fine alternatives to PBS has devolved into a knuckledragging race to the bottom, line. No surprise that the ad dollars orbit these shows like flies on sherbert, but there seems to be no limits to what these channels will lay claim to.

Let's see, what does poker have to do with travelling? My first thought, nothing. Don't tell that to the suits at the Travel Channel though.
Silly me, I guess you could play poker on vacation or perhaps engage in a quick 5 card draw with the kids on the way home from the mall. Oh I see, it's a poker tour.

What about the austere gentleman in the room, the History Channel? Every time I ever flipped through this channel they always seemed to be showing Modern Marvels. Wait, I thought this was sposed to be history...like, the past? Or maybe I need to think outside the box, yeah.

The biggest offender in my opinion is The Learning Channel, oh wait now it's just TLC, lovely re-branding there. You may not know it, but there used to be serious educational programming on this channel, I know, I'm showing my age here, trust me. Now you can tune in to such enlightening fare as I Eat 33,000 Calories a Day or Joined at the Head (I didn't just make that up either), or that show with the macho dickhead motorcycle builders. Jesus Christ TLC, you make the Weekly World News look like Harper's.

Admittedly, I almost feel for these guys. What would you do if you were tasked with trying to siphon away viewers from Dog the Bounty Hunter?