Originally Posted by fluffysheep123:
“I think again this type of candidate has been present in the early seasons too - take Katie Hopkins for instance (although the frequency of such candidates may have increased). I think a noteworthy point about shows like The Apprentice and X Factor is that at first, people believed it was a genuine search for talent. But over time more and more people have caught on that they are actually just entertainment shows. So although the "entertainment" part may have increased or is more noticeable now, I think the entertainment part has always been there but only in the later seasons have people been realising it.
Regarding losing viewers, people talk about falling ratings and a dying audience but both shows are still extremely popular - so a lot of people (including myself) still find entertainment in these shows. But I can understand why it might annoy some viewers.”
The difference is whether they are popular shows enjoyed by the masses or simply another lame reality TV show full of talentless egotists being watched by a far smaller audience.
For them to be popular, there has to be an element of genuineness about it. The whole premise of these shows, and why they were some of the most popular shows on TV, is that they were a "talent search", for business, singers, etc. Of course as you say there was always an entertainment element, and the editors will always ensure that they edit it to make it as fun as possible.
But just from casual observation, the focus has shifted dramatically in recent years. And it's become palpably visible, as evidenced by many of the comments on this forum.
Shows can always still exist, and there is always some appetite for people that like to watch garbage, but the point is it exists in a different form.
Big brother is nothing but a figment of what it was when it first started out.
Another example is WWF wrestling. Everyone used to watch it in the 90s when they believed there was an element of genuineness about it. But when people realised that it's all fake, with poor actors pretending to create drama... it still exists, but in a substantially reduced capacity