| It all began in the 1980's. Ronald Regan was president | | | | created infomercial industry. There was Jane Fonda |
| and one of the many controversial things he did in that | | | | who captured lightening in a bottle with her exercise |
| office was to deregulate the TV industry. Why did he | | | | tapes simultaneously boosting the video business along |
| do it? Well, as a conservative Republican he lived and | | | | with the infomercial business. There was Ron Popeil, |
| breathed by the "free market rule," which stated that | | | | who marketed every gadget and device people didn't |
| the government didn't belong in business, and | | | | even know they needed and made the switch from |
| businesses should live and die by the success or | | | | printed contact to electronic contact so successfully |
| failure of their own practices and market forces.At the | | | | he's still doing it today. And there was Kenny Kingston |
| same time, cable TV was just starting its expansion | | | | who made the Psychic Hotline into one of the largest |
| into the American television marketplace, and that | | | | businesses in the world without even having anything |
| opened up a huge broadcast venue which simply didn't | | | | to sell! Only in America and only in infomercials could |
| exist beforehand. Anybody with any experience in the | | | | such overwhelming success happen so quickly.Soon, |
| broadcast industry was starting his own channel and | | | | everybody with an idea was trying to come up with |
| pretty soon cable channels were commonplace. The | | | | the next big thing. As is always the case with any new |
| most successful channels at the time were religious | | | | industry, immediately following the initial success there |
| based channels which were basically used for | | | | comes a huge wave of imitators and innovators trying |
| fundraising purposes. There were literally hundreds of | | | | to cash in. And as always happens - most fail. There |
| them, from local, small time reverends and ministers | | | | was such a huge crush of wannabes flooding into the |
| with dubious backgrounds, to nationally broadcast | | | | business that production rates skyrocketed and |
| spiritual and religious shows, utilizing well-known religious | | | | broadcast time became more and more expensive |
| figures.At this point, two things happened. For one, | | | | and less and less available. Almost overnight, the |
| many of the young, fledgling channels and networks | | | | infomercial industry went from nothing to today's |
| who counted on ad revenue to keep themselves | | | | enviable haul of billions of dollars annually. And that's |
| afloat attracted less than stellar ratings and starting | | | | just in America. Successful infomercials, like Hollywood |
| going under. And at the same time, the religious | | | | movies are translated into foreign languages and |
| channels started to realize that their fundraising efforts | | | | played all around the globe especially when they are |
| were failing miserably in the late evening and wee | | | | celebrity driven.The newly created infomercial industry |
| hours of the morning.Cheap broadcast space was | | | | was the precursor to the Home Shopping Network |
| born! And enterprising businessmen, more like vultures | | | | and QVC which are essentially 24 hour mini |
| than saviors, swooped down and began to chew on | | | | infomercials, product driven, price driven and celebrity |
| the dying carcasses of the young cable industry, | | | | driven. And now we have The Infomercial Channel - |
| buying up blocks of cheap, late night, off peak | | | | 24 hours a day of infomercials. Gone are the days of |
| broadcast time and running 30 minute or 60 minute, | | | | loud mouthed hucksters, snake oil salesmen yelling into |
| inexpensively produced commercials refashioned as | | | | the camera, hawking the latest "it slices! it dices!" home |
| entertainment programs.Pretty soon there were | | | | improvement device. Today, infomercials are slick, |
| infomercial superstars. Celebrities, as well as a cast of | | | | expensive and if they work, highly profitable. |
| unknowns, found fame and fortune in the newly | | | | |