TV

You think binge-watching your favorite show weeks after its episodes air will help pump up its ratings? Think again. Live+3 television ratings metrics have changed things considerably.

By Laurie L. Dove

The average TV commercial is 30 seconds. So they should be fairly easy to shoot, right? Just slap together a concept, a product and some actors and that should do it. Not so fast, TV commercial production gets super complex really quickly.

By Laurie L. Dove

"Seinfeld" will forever be known as the best "show about nothing." But is it also an homage to Superman?

By Alison Cooper

Streaming TV shows online seems like it makes sense for the networks. So why aren't all shows available via the Internet? We'll explain.

By Gallagher Flinn

You know you can't wait until the season premiere of your favorite show. But have you ever wondered why the networks' new seasons start in the fall? You might be surprised by the answer.

By Gallagher Flinn

When CNN debuted in 1980, the 24-hour news network was taking a leap into the unknown. Now we can get our news anywhere, anytime thanks to tablets, smartphones and the Internet. Could 24-hour news stations could be gone in our lifetime?

By Gallagher Flinn

How did AMC wrangle so many viewers via Twitter and Facebook for shows like "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad"? And did its strategy really break ground for the future of television marketing?

By Gallagher Flinn

When the president speaks, we listen. But when the president asks for airtime, do the networks have to say yes? It's not a simple answer.

By Gallagher Flinn

Think you're the next Rupert Murdoch or Ted Turner? Good luck with that. But seriously, if you want to run a little TV network from home, it can be done -- well, sort of.

By Gallagher Flinn

Yes, it may seem like the reason the characters on "The Simpsons" don't age is because it's a cartoon. But the real reason is because they're stuck in a time loop. Far-fetched? You haven't heard our other wild TV show theories.

By Alia Hoyt

Many people want to be on today's popular reality shows but don't necessarily know what being a contestant entails. Ready for sleepless nights and "creative" editing?

By Melanie Radzicki McManus

In times past, if your favorite TV character was about to get married or have a baby, there was a good chance it would happen in February, May or November, because those were Sweeps Week periods. What are the Sweeps, and are they still relevant?

By Dave Roos

It seems like TV doctors never discover a case of the mumps. Rare and bizarre medical conditions make for good television, but we picked 10 medical conditions that real doctors almost never see.

By Theresa Waldron

Screenwriters make their money selling scripts rife with action, danger and intrigue. However, there's plenty of drama to be found in everyday life, and we have 10 examples from reality TV to prove it.

By Chris Obenschain

Can you name the longest-running TV show, the longest-running animation, the most-watched show finale? Peek at these TV show pictures and learn some fun facts and trivia about the most popular shows in television history.

The characters in "Star Trek" get to wield all kinds of high-tech gadgetry. Some of these gizmos are purely science fiction. What technologies have actually come to pass?

By Josh Briggs

Let's say Ronald McDonald is running for president. In this commercial -- where he hopes to gain the golfer vote -- he needs to include a voice-over: "I'm Ronald McDonald, and I approved this message." Why?

By Charles W. Bryant

One new baby at a time is a handful for most parents, so the thought of bringing home six infants -- when you already have twin toddlers -- is downright terrifying. But for Jon and Kate Gosselin, it was a reality.

By Gerri Miller

The sci-fi phenomenon that began more than 30 years ago with a movie about a galaxy long ago and far, far away has expanded once again with "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," the story of the galactic civil war that takes place between Episodes II and III.

By Gerri Miller

When "Knight Rider" premiered 26 years ago, the idea of a talking car was preposterous, outrageous and completely cool. Now "Knight Rider" is back with a new star, a new car and a new set of stunts to blow you away.

By Gerri Miller

If you started watching "The Simpsons" when it took to the airwaves in 1989, you may have been annoyed when Fox moved it to the same time slot as another popular show -- "The Cosby Show." Who decides how to schedule network TV shows, and how much do timeslots really matter?

By Dave Roos

Don't think the cameramen who film "Deadliest Catch" aren't as gritty and daring as the show's subjects. When 800-pound crab pots are swinging onto a tilting and slippery deck, there's no time to baby-sit the Hollywood rookie.

By Charles W. Bryant

Many people enjoy watching "MythBusters" find out whether cockroaches can survive a nuclear holocaust and other urban myths. But who are these cast members and have they ever been wrong?

By Charles W. Bryant

We've all seen sitcoms, laughed with them and probably even sung along to their theme songs. But why are we so partial to these half-hour television shows and what is their history?

By Winifred Fordham Metz

The first rule of Fight Quest is -- well there are no rules. Discovery puts two fighters to the test as they travel the world and learn some pretty brutal fighting techniques -- and try them out on each other.

By Charles W. Bryant