I agree that programming on the History channel has definitely dumbed down in recent years, and it may have a lot to do with program costs. It's probably cheaper to buy series that have so-called "popular appeal", which tend to garner advertising dollars, but it makes me wonder what type of audience they are aiming these shows at. Young boys, or maybe people who are addicted to other similar types of shows, like "Survivor"?

Wasting time watching some of the garbage is like eating fast food: you may feel full and happy while you're eating, but later you feel guilty for abusing your body with sugar and saturated fats. And why keep rolling the same dinosaur CGI sequences over and over again? An hour long show could be presented in less than 10 minutes for the actual information it contains.

The A&E channel, which used to present some interesting programming, is now actually worse than History (if that's possible), and makes me cringe. The subject matter is on nothing but hoarders, on and on and... SPACE has shown almost nothing else except Star Trek and Stargate for years now.

The programs on the PBS stations that I receive via satellite in my area are also a far cry from what was shown some years back. Government funding for PBS stations was slashed drastically, so now most of their money comes from cash gifts, endowments and subscription drives. The only show that I can watch on PBS, without being bored to tears, is Mystery!, which presents fairly good series produced in Great Britain.