I'd like to rant on something you were surprised about - the scope and power of advertising. I am in a class called "History of TV & Radio" (highly recommended) and my professor said, verbatim, "Television runs exclusively on rating." We have all heard of ratings - CBS has been boasting for years that they have the #1 rated primetime slot of major networks. When a network runs highly rated shows, the asking price for ad-space during those shows increases. In other words, a popular show will attract many viewers - more viewers, more competition for ad-space. According to my professor, Dr. Rodgers, the process by which a network television show is picked up starts and ends with the advertisement. When a show goes under review, there will be a screening with several representatives of major corporations; in that screening, all it takes is one representative to say, "Hey, I think this show will fit well with my company's selling points." At that point, the show will receive funding from that one (or several other) corporations to shoot a contract-oriented number of episodes. If the ratings on that show rise, then the bidding for advertising space during that show will exponentially increase. If the show tanks and no one watches it, the corporation sponsoring the show can back out of their funding and the show can get dropped right there.
Contemporary example: If you have been following the primetime Sunday night series "LIFE" on Discovery channel, you should have noticed that Target is its primary sponsor. As far as I have heard, LIFE has received great ratings; if it were to run for a second season, Target probably would get outbid by Coca-Cola, General Electric, GM or some other major corporation as the primary sponsor.
So, that's my long-winded way of theorizing that advertising fuels our viewing pleasure. This should not be a new concept for us to ponder, as most of us have lived in a capitalist society all our lives. But I just wanted to go into a little more depth.
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