All the TV channels have gone down the poop shute - playing to the lowest common denominator, which unfortunately today is the majority. Low rent cheap thrills and novelty are the opiate of this generation.
Invent a cure for cancer and you'll be famous for 5 minutes. Wank off a pig and you'll have a lucrative career as a 'celeb'.
TV is simply adapting to the intellectual deficiencies and childishness of its audience. That's why I can't stand to watch TV anymore. Stargate Universe, Criminal Minds and movies are the only things I bother with