The Learning Channel, commonly referred to as TLC, has brought us some of the “binge-iest” reality television shows like “My 600-lb Life,” “My Strange Addiction” and “Say Yes to the Dress.” When this channel debuted in the early ‘80s, it was meant to be an educational channel, a “place for learning minds,” which featured shows involving information-based segments on a variety of topics like home improvement and nature. Today, it has definitely strayed from that path.
All of the shows now are either routed around lifestyle or fashion and most, if not all of these shows, are reality television, which isn’t the best source of information. It’s interesting that it is owned by Discovery, Inc. which is all about educating people about the natural world with their other channels like The Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and the Travel Channel. So why did they all of a sudden let this channel drop the ball from it’s main purpose? Short answer: ratings. They are letting this channel run amok to make some money and close the gaps the other channels don’t.
According to The Futon Critic, in 2017 TLC had the best ratings compared to other cable networks with the women’s demographic on Saturday nights. The average demographic hit are people ages 18 to 54, though they mainly target women in that age range. The main reason they succeed is not only because of the people they rake in watching their reality shows, but also because they aren’t risking anything with their shows. For example, with the recent success of “90 Day Fiance,” they added similar spin-offs to keep those viewers interested with “90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After.”
Shockingly, this isn’t the only time they’ve followed trends in ratings to create a “fresh” spin-off that will keep viewers hooked. It seems like TLC has a thing for family units and “different” family lifestyles. They have a total of 16 shows over the years with a ring of spin-offs. The most common involve polygamy lifestyles like “Sister Wives,” “Three Women, One Husband,” “My Five Wives” and “Seeking Sister Wife.” Any show on TLC that does fairly-decent on ratings automatically gets a spin-off within a year dependent upon to turn around time.
This pattern isn’t just for shows about polygamy, either. “Say Yes to the Dress” has become one of the channel’s largest money makers with 10 spin-offs like “Randy Knows Best,” “Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta” and “Say Yes to the Prom.” There might be no answer to why this channel is so obsessed with these seemingly random topics, but it definitely has made them a successful moneymaker for their boss.
I understand that when you watch a television channel they all have a main topic, like Syfy follows science fiction and Animal Planet follows anything animals, but for a channel with basically no description, it’s time they ‘fess up to the fact that they have no genre other than reality. They recently released a new tagline, “Everyone needs a little TLC” to try and change the narrative, but, guess what: it’s not the best cover-up of the truth. Give us our binge-worthy reality shows, but don’t pretend that’s not your only offer to your viewers.
