5 Sad Ways A&E Became the Walmart of Television Networks [View all]

[TeamPooka]

When it comes to things that used to be great but slowly became terrible, cable television network A&E doesn't even make the list. That's because there was nothing slow about their transformation from useful to useless. It practically happened overnight.

For the longest time, they were the network that aired two episodes of Biography every day while also delivering original, scripted programming that skewed toward a more history-minded demographic, like the audience you might expect a show like Downton Abbey to attract today, for example.

You sure as shit don't think of highfalutin Brits when someone mentions the "Arts & Entertainment" network these days, right? A management change in 2002 saw the network undergo a dramatic makeover. The "smart" stuff like Biography and anything history related that didn't involve gambling addicts pawning their possessions got transplanted to the Biography Channel and History Channel, respectively (and appropriately, I suppose). Meanwhile, A&E began focusing almost exclusively on lowbrow fare like Dog the Bounty Hunter and Gene Simmons Family Jewels.

That's the abbreviated story of how the cable network America used to rely on for its "intellectual" programming became the same one that currently finds itself at the heart of the Duck Dynasty controversy. Oh, hey! The debacle surrounding that show in particular is something I discuss at length with my Cracked co-workers Randall Maynard and Kristi Harrison, along with special guest comic Josh Denny, on this week's Unpopular Opinion podcast, which you can listen to right here if you're so inclined ...

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-sad-ways-ae-became-walmart-television-networks/#ixzz2pMdOZ9hE