The Reality of Reality Shows

Believe it or not, but reality shows are very profitable. Despite their lack of substance and moral decency, they have become extremely popular for viewers and thus - advertisers. Nearly every cable channel has it's own reality show, and some channels have up to ten.

It all started with Cops - the oldest known reality show on television. Cops has been airing since 1989, and is still one of my favorites. Then, in the mid-1990's CBS came out with Survivor - which was an instant success, and still airs - making it one of the longest lasting reality shows.

Then there was Being Bobby Brown, Real World, The Simple Life, Flavor of Love, Hogan Knows Best, Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, Celebrity Fit Club, Desperate Housewives, and many others.

Now, you have Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model, T.I.'s Road To Redemption, Rev Run's Run's House, Xzibit's Pimp My Ride, Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood, MC Hammer's Hammertime, Ray J's For The Love of Ray J, Donald Trump's The Apprentice, and Keyshia Cole's The Way It Is.

There is also Jon and Kate Plus 8, Tiny and Toya, Daddy's Girls (with Angela and Vanessa Simmons), The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Keeping Up with the Kardashians - and the list goes on.

Even though many of these shows are short-lived, very ignorant, and can be quite degrading, they draw in millions and millions of viewers from many different demographics. Advertisers, hence, haved jumped on this and are spending billions to sponsor these shows. All they care about is eyeballs.

That may not be what people want to hear, but that's the reality.