I remember staying home sick from school and she was basically the only thing on broadcast television in her time slot. She wasn't very entertaining, but there was very little competition. I'm also betting that was prime advertising for stay at home moms who control the majority of middle class spending at the time.
It was very lucrative. The most well paid people on TV have their shows on in the middle of the day- Ellen, Dr. Phil, Judge Judy to name a few
WHY was it lucrative? where did the money come from?
Who do you think spends all the money in the home? The men making the money just want to come home and rest. Bored, fat housewives that have nothing to do all day and never learned the value of money watch those stupid afternoon talk shows and buy anything the commercials tell them. Mid day advertising makes a ton of money.
TV in the afternoons were horrible in the 80s and 90s. You had gameshows in the morning (NO WHAMMIES!), then the soaps and then her just before the afternoon cartoons. It had to have been designed that way.
I was always surprised by how bad it was. They seemed to spend money on production and stuff, so I can't imagine why it was so damn unentertaining. For a while, the 700 club (Christian Broadcasting Network) was the most entertaining thing on when I got home from high school early. I always thought Pat Robertson's talk of a "gay agenda" and "gay lobby" were retarded, but now I realize it was almost prophetic.
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