This 'Golden Age' of TV Can't Last

Seen any good shows lately? The answer is probably yes, given that we're in what many call a "golden age" of television, writes Justin Fox at Bloomberg. Pick your source—cable, Netflix, broadcast TV, Apple, YouTube, wherever—and it's easy to find quality entertainment. The problem is that if you look at where the money for all these shows is coming from, it's clear this golden age can't last. Companies that want the cable bundle to survive are investing big in shows, and companies that want to replace the bundle are doing the same.

"Today’s quality programming is thus being financed from the past (broadcast and basic-cable advertising revenue, DVD sales), the present (cable subscriber fees, iTunes), and the future (streaming subscription fees and ad revenue)," writes Fox. At some point, something will have to give. The only bright spot is that, unlike in the newspaper and music industries, this "could take a while." So, yes, the "golden age is doomed, but we can at least hope that its demise will be drawn-out and replete with high-quality entertainment." Click for the full column. (More television stories.)