Back before cable TV, when there were only 3 television networks, no streaming, no YouTube, etc, shows would easily get 10-20x the audience sizes they do today. But, compared to the stuff produced today, those shows mostly had cheap sets and few locations.
With lower costs and way more viewers, were those old networks literally swimming in money? Or was something majorly different?
Did advertisers pay substantially less? Did actors get paid more? How did the economics work?
In: 5
Today’s television shows have significantly fewer episodes per season than was previously typical. For example, the first season of House of the Dragon consisted of 10 episodes. By comparison, a show that aired in the 50’s or 60’s could easily have had 30 to 35 episodes. Longer seasons means less money and lower production values on a per episode basis even if you spent the same amount of money on the season overall.
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