Why don't we have a Jools Holland-type show in the US?

I was going to say we have (or had) Spectacle, but that was a UK/Canadian show, as well. It at least got regular airplay in North America.

I suppose the main reason this isn’t a more ubiquitous format is that it’s hard to maintain a steady stream of high-quality guests. But I agree it would be great to have more of this.

Spectacle, hell yeah! I want that!!

RE: “It seems only the 4 or 5 most-popular-at-the-moment artists get airplay.” Clarifying that – I meant in the US. Taylor Swift is on TV almost every day, while thousands of great acts never reach the general public.

Yes, I wish Spectacle were still running! It was so great. There are several clips on YouTube, but I have yet to find a source for all episodes. Mind you, I’m not on Netflix… maybe it’s there.

TV networks generally program shows where they think that there will be a demand – and demand is defined as a sponsor (advertiser) being willing to pay for advertising to that the network can make a profit.

So on a very basic level, the reason you don’t see shows like this is because advertisers don’t think enough people will watch it, so they don’t buy ads.

In the old days, public TV (PBS) used to underwrite this sort of niche show, but they have become rather commercialized themselves.

@elbanditoroso Yeah, PBS had Sessions at West 54th and Austin City Limits, those are really good.

And thank you for mentioning that, I now see Austin City Limits is on the air here, but at midnight. I’ll have to start recording that.