“In day-to-day commerce, television is not so much interested in the business of communications as in the business of delivering audiences to advertisers. People are the merchandise, not the shows. The shows are merely the bait.”
— Les Brown
Simplified Meaning:
Television companies make money by selling audiences to advertisers, not just by broadcasting programs. When we watch TV, the shows we see are designed to grab our attention and keep us watching through the commercial breaks. For example, imagine a popular cooking show. The show itself is interesting and fun to watch, but its main purpose is to bring in viewers. Then, during the commercial breaks, we see ads for kitchen gadgets, food products, and restaurants. Television networks charge companies a lot of money to show those ads because they know people are watching. So, it's not the cooking tips or competitions that are the real product being sold; it's us, the viewers, who are being sold to advertisers. By understanding this, we can be more aware of how TV works and make more conscious choices about how we spend our time.
