It's easier and faster to gather, process and distributeratings numbers. This means the networks dump failing shows quicker and quicker. With rising costs and competition for audience share, thenumber ordered shrank to 26, then 22, then 13. In the TV world program producers have less time to prove themselves, to find an audience for their series. There is continuous pressure on TV execs.
Ratings are the measure of paranoia common in theTV production business.
This extremely expensive competition forces producers to cater to whatever type of show is popular at the time to improve the chances landing in the Top 20. The need to make video investments pay off quickly is no better for popular art than it is for wine. The answer is yes. TV is an expensive mass medium. It needs millions of viewers to survive financially.