Winfrey’s painful struggle with OWN raises an equally painful question: Have we finally reached the point of too many networks?
We live in the age of screen creep, in which news, trivia, and ads – mostly ads – pop up in places they never would have just a decade ago. We’re confronted with TV on elevators, in taxicabs, even in public bathrooms.
There are plenty of niche networks — about military history, golf, fishing — that may not strike the average viewer as essential. But at least they’re valuable to their small audiences. When we think of networks that could easily disappear, we think of four that few people would miss.
Two of them – No. 4 and No. 1 — were horrible ideas from the start. The other two — including, we regret to say, OWN — could be great with some changes. As it stands, they try so hard to please everyone that they please almost no one.
#4: McTV
#3: VH1
#2: OWN
#1: Gas Station TV
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