History NetworkDecay / InUniverseExamples

* On Fuse, a channel similar to MTV, they often [[TakeThat made jokes about this]], though without actually saying "MTV". HilariousInHindsight, as the same thing happened to Fuse (See NetworkDecay/TemporaryShifts).

* Two [[MissingEpisode banned]] episodes of ''TheBoondocks'' (you can watch 'em on DVD) bash BET's decay for all it's worth. The irony here is that the Executive Producer "Reginald Hudlin" in the credits is the same one who currently runs BET. Contractual obligations keep his name on it, but series creator Aaron [=McGruder=] has made his stance on the network clear. "Martin Luther King Jr." called out the network in one episode, and shortly afterwards, the former president of the network '''''[[DrivenToSuicide killed himself]]'''''.

--> ''"They're allowed to watch half an hour of television, and only cartoons. [[BitingTheHandHumor Which means no Cartoon Network]]."''

-->''"[[BitingTheHandHumor Stupid Adult Swim only plays it on Saturdays now.]]"''

--> ''"[[AnimationAgeGhetto ANIME IS A WASTE OF MONEY AND TIME!]] WE'RE GOING ALL [[LiveActionTV LIVE ACTION]] THIS SUMMER!"''

* UBS, the TV station from ''{{Network}}'', which shifts from a regular channel, to a sensationalist channel, complete with a RealityShow following the steps of a guerrila group.
* In an episode of ''GarfieldAndFriends'' has Garfield watching a game show called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Hit The Buzzer, Win A Cookie!"]], to which Garfield quips "And this is on the ''educational'' channel."

--> '''Zodd:''' ''Don't you think we can do a little better than DTV?''
--> '''Phil:''' ''Why, what's wrong with DTV? It's television for demons, we're demons -- it's perfect.''
--> '''Zodd:''' ''Yeah, but you know how these specialty cable networks are: they start out real good, but then they lose their focus and things go downhill real quick. Just look at what happened to G4!''

--> ''"There's no bloody music on the network anymore! Yes, I'm aware this is an age-old complaint, but the word "music" is right there in the name of the channel, you loathsome cretins. At the very least, stop being disingenuous and just go ahead change the name of the network from {{MTV}} to ''RoadRules''-''PimpMyRide''-and-Intoxicated-College-Students-Doing-Disgusting-Stunts-for-No-Pay-but-Rather-Because-Someone-Shoved-a-Camera-in-Their-Faces TV."''

--> ''"This weekend on The History Channel, [[Series/AmericanPickers someone digs through old plastic junk]] ("It's a Dukes of Hazzard wastebasket!"), [[Series/PawnStars someone else tries to sell a doll head]] ("I used to take the heads off the bodies, and I kept the heads")... and LarryTheCableGuy taste-tests Tabasco sauce ("I can't feel my dadgum tongue!"). The History Channel. What the hell happened to us?"''

* [[http://koikoi11.blogspot.com/2008/07/education-programming-on-learning.html This just about sums it all up]]
* And [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8jeuYMHX9Y&feature=autofb this]] too.

* In the ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' ExpandedUniverse novel ''The Zentraedi Rebellion'', Minmei's managers have started a satellite network for [[HumanAliens Zentraedi]]-related programming (which mostly means [[KlingonsLoveShakespeare Minmei music]]), and Minmei has a combination music program and talk show on it where Zentraedi viewers call in, request music, and occasionally rant about the deteriorating political situation. [[ExecutiveMeddling Her managers]] soon try to turn it into a variety show and have some human special guests show up to boost ratings (from the human viewership), but Minmei stands firm; she's doing the show and the Lorelei Network because it's focused on the Zentraedi audience, and if the executives want to have special guests comment on the events, they'll have to be Zentraedi guests.

* In the ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' ExpandedUniverse novel ''The Zentraedi Rebellion'', Minmei's managers have started a satellite network for Zentraedi-related programming (which mostly means [[KlingonsLoveShakespeare Minmei music]]), and Minmei has a combination music program and talk show on it where Zentraedi viewers call in, request music, and occasionally rant about the deteriorating political situation. [[ExecutiveMeddling Her managers]] soon try to turn it into a variety show and have some human special guests show up to boost ratings (from the human viewership), but Minmei stands firm; she's doing the show and the Lorelei Network because it's focused on the Zentraedi audience, and if the executives want to have special guests comment on the events, they'll have to be Zentraedi guests.

[[AC:{{BET}}]]

[[AC:{{FOX}}]]
* ''TheSimpsons'': In a FlashForward episode set in [[{{Zeerust}} 2010]] Marge comments that the {{Fox}} TV network had switched to hardcore porn so gradaully she never even noticed.

[[AC:{{G4}} / TechTV]]

[[AC:{{MTV}}]]

[[AC:TheHistoryChannel]]

* The subject of the ''Series/{{Portlandia}}'' episode "Take Back MTV". Spyke is upset that MTV is not like it used to be, so he hires Kurt Loder, Tabitha Soren, and Matt Pinfield to storm MTV headquarters. Spyke breaks into [=MTVs=] president's office, while the other three take over the main airway.

* TheOnion: "[[http://www.theonion.com/content/node/39135 Learning Channel Switches to All-Gilligan Format]]".

* In Episode 12.5 (DTV Pitch) of BerserkAbridged, when Zodd mentioned specialty cable networks being good at the start, then going downhill quickly when they lose their focus, using G4 as an example.

* The subject of the ''Series/{{Portlandia}}'' episode "Take Back MTV". Spyke is upset that MTV is not like it used to be, so he hires Kurt Loder, Tabitha Soren, and Matt Pinfield to storm MTV headquarters. Spyke breaks into MTVs president's office, while the other three take over the main airway.

* Two [[MissingEpisode banned]] episodes of ''TheBoondocks'' (you can watch 'em on DVD) bash BET's decay for all it's worth. The irony here is that the Executive Producer "Reginald Hudlin" in the credits is the same one who currently runs BET. Contractual obligations keep his name on it, but series creator Aaron [=McGruder=] has made his stance on the network clear. "Martin Luther King Jr." called out the network in one episode, and shortly afterwards, the former president of the network '''''killed himself'''''.

--> ''"This weekend on The History Channel, [[AmericanPickers someone digs through old plastic junk]] ("It's a Dukes of Hazzard wastebasket!"), [[PawnStars someone else tries to sell a doll head]] ("I used to take the heads off the bodies, and I kept the heads")... and LarryTheCableGuy taste-tests Tabasco sauce ("I can't feel my dadgum tongue!"). The History Channel. What the hell happened to us?"''

[[AC:G4 / TechTV]]

[[AC:UsefulNotes/{{TLC}}]]

* TheDailyShow mocked this, saying it's where you can go to "learn" what it would be like to have 8 children, or 17 children, or...

--> ''"This weekend on The History Channel, someone digs through old plastic junk ("It's a Dukes of Hazzard wastebasket!"), someone else tries to sell a doll head ("I used to take the heads off the bodies, and I kept the heads")... and Larry the Cable Guy taste-tests Tabasco sauce ("I can't feel my dadgum tongue!"). The History Channel. What the hell happened to us?"''

* Mocked in a {{Cracked}} article: Subject of [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18449_the-tlc-experiment-just-how-dumb-learning-channel.html The TLC Experiment: Just How Dumb is The Learning Channel?]]

* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' lampshaded AdultSwim’s treatment of Anime, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7k-BbwVqxo noting once during a segment about]] ''Manga/InuYasha'':

* [[http://www.bumpworthy.com/bumps/3862 In an]] AdultSwim AdBumper, a viewer noted that their message boards were feeling dead as they were not pissing off their fans good enough. AdultSwim, being the {{Trolling Creator}}s they are, attempted to start some rallying by lampshading their own decay.

[[AC:CartoonNetwork]]

* ''RobotChicken'' lampshaded AdultSwim’s treatment of Anime, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7k-BbwVqxo noting once during a segment about]] ''InuYasha'':

* The ''AndrewWK'' song "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwlb2gGEk54 Hearing What I Said]]", which was used as a promotion for CN Real, pretty much sums up CartoonNetwork’s attempts at live action. Not surprisingly, [[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/cartoon-networks-death-knell-promo.html it wasn’t received very well.]]
--> ''Your name is CartoonNetwork,\\

* In the FamilyGuy humor book ''Stewie's Guide to World Domination'', the section "Why MTV Is the Root of All Evil", has Stewie Griffin lashing out on MTV.

* Parodied by ''SouthPark'' in the episode "[[http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s15e13-a-history-channel-thanksgiving A History Channel Thanksgiving]]", when the boys believe that aliens were involved in the original Thanksgiving after watching a "special" on the channel.

* In an episode of ''GarfieldAndFriends'' has Garfield watching a game show called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Hit The Buzzer, Win A Cookie!", to which Garfield quips "And this is on the ''educational'' channel."

* In the episode "Jumpy George" of ''[[WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 01]]'', a woman hires Meatwad to babysit her children. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIZtaYZR29c Her instructions]]:

* In the episode "Jumpy George" in ''[[WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 01]]'', a woman hires Meatwad to babysit her children. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIZtaYZR29c Her instructions]]:
--> ''"They're allowed to watch half an hour of television, and only cartoons. Which means no CartoonNetwork."''

* Mocked in ''[[WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 01]]'' where in the episode "Jumpy George", a woman hires Meatwad to babysit her children. Her instructions:

[[AC:Others]]
* UBS, the fictional channel from ''{{Network}}'', due to greedy executives wanting to cash in the LowestCommonDeterminator.

!In-Universe Examples and Mockeries

--> Examples are categorized according to the networks the listed works are making fun of.

* ''RobotChicken'' lampshaded AdultSwim’s treatment of Anime, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7k-BbwVqxo noting once during a segment about]] ''InuYasha'':

* The ''AndrewWK'' song "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwlb2gGEk54 Hearing What I Said]]", which was used as a promotion for CN Real, pretty much sums up CartoonNetwork’s attempts at live action. Not surprisingly, [[http://www.cartoonbrew.com/tv/cartoon-networks-death-knell-promo.html it wasn’t received very well.]]

[[AnimationAgeGhetto so don’t get left behind,]]\\
because now [[LiveActionTV we’ve got real people]] and,\\
[[BlatantLies we’ve heard it blows your mind.]]''

[[/folder]]