Commercial-free premium shows first unlocked television’s full narrative potential

Evidence

That good storytelling should have emerged as a priority is perhaps the most dramatic statement one could make about what was happening to television, although its appearance attests a potential that the medium always possessed. That expression of this potential was first undertaken by shows that had eliminated commercials gives some indication of what the attention merchants have to answer for. That it took so long made one wonder why we had put up with anything else for so many years. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1113

Categorization

• SEED: Article angle: how advertising budgets actively suppressed narrative quality in mass media for decades.
• XREF: connects to: Deep-engagement television evolved serialized narratives requiring total episode commitment — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1110; Television’s high fixed costs forced instant ratings success or cancellation — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 490

Broader Connections

• Deep-engagement television evolved serialized narratives requiring total episode commitment #expands (0.75) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 1110
• Television’s high fixed costs forced instant ratings success or cancellation #qualifies (0.72) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 490