What is Channel drift?
'''Channel drift''', also called '''network decay''', is when a [[television channel]] moves away from its original shows to get a new audience, or to get higher ratings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/01/21/tv-101-channel-drift-or-what-the-hell-happened-to-aande/ |title=TV 101: Channel Drift (or, what the hell happened to A&E?) |publisher=Tvsquad.com |access-date=2012-01-26 |archive-date=2011-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324024030/http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/01/21/tv-101-channel-drift-or-what-the-hell-happened-to-aande/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> It often involves a move from shows aimed at viewers that know a lot about the channel's subject to shows aimed at a wider audience. Most examples of channel drift have a channel add [[infotainment]] or [[reality television|reality]] shows to their schedule. A well-known example of channel drift is [[MTV]]. When it started in 1981, MTV was a channel that showed [[music video]]s. In the 1990s, it started adding entertainment and reality shows aimed at a young [[adult]] audience. This was the start of a move towards the channel's current focus on shows aimed at [[adolescence|adolescent]]s and young adults. ==References== {{reflist}} ==Other websites== * [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NetworkDecay Network Decay - TV Tropes Wiki] {{tv-stub}} [[Category:Television]]