Consumers today have the most diverse and unlimited menu of choices on TV than ever before. In the last two decades, cable TV networks have invested more than $430 billion to create rich entertainment experiences that keep viewers coming back time and time again, and it's easy to see why cable shows continue to stand out for their inspiring stories and top-knotch talent.
The time and effort that cable programmers put into recruiting the best writers, directors, actors and showrunners and into producing the type of quality storytelling that dominates TV ratings is paying off and viewers are reaping the benefits.
In the last year alone, cable shows won 65 awards at the 2018 Primetime Emmys, ahead of streaming services and broadcast TV. Shows like Logo TV's RuPaul's Drag Race and FX's Pose, which embrace the LGBTQ community, are paving the road towards more inclusive TV programming, while dramas like HBO's Game of Thrones, which returns this summer, continue to thrill fans. Then there are new shows like BBC America's Killing Eve. This one took everyone by surprise with its feminist and suspenseful storyline, and one that progressively gained a larger audience throughout each week of its first season debut. And this is just a tiny sliver of the myriad of award-winning programming available to cable subscribers.
Cable TV offers a plethora of niche stories that appeal to a range of audiences, demographics and personal tastes, and viewers are noticing. According to a recent Morning Consult survey, 81 percent of people reported that they are happy with the content quality of their cable entertainment package.
The rate of content creation and production isn't dying down anytime soon. The number of scripted TV shows has increased 235 percent over the past 10 years, and there's even more to come. With the TV Critics Association Press Tour coming up in a couple of weeks, a whole new set of shows will make their debuts as audiences eagerly await their premieres later this year.
Be sure to check back here next month for updates from the TCA tour on what America's cable programmers are planning for the Spring and beyond.