“Without a doubt, the business model of network television is suffering from competition with other channels who operate with fewer content restrictions,” says Robert Thompson, a professor of popular culture and television at Syracuse University. “This country’s obsession with not uttering naughty words and not talking about s-e-x is borderline psychotic. Strike that, it is psychotic.”

While the major networks struggle to create compelling content that meets the FCC’s rigid decency standards, HBO, Showtime and AMC have pumped out profitable hits such as The Sopranos, Sex & The City, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Weeds and Mad Men — shows that could not exist on broadcast television. And not only is the public accepting of the adult content, many people pay to watch it.