Why the hell do people make Reality TV shows???

Because i have seen my share of Reality TV shows and there are only 2 that i like:
 

• The Ultimate Fighter because it serves a purpose 
• Cops because it's hilarious to see criminals busted 

• A shot at love with Tila tequila
• Jon and kate plus 8

You shouldn't care. Advertisers on the other hand know that shows like that attract the right kind of idiots and their eyeballs for their commercials.

People watch it

Theres a certain joy to  a freakshow..the fact that these shows are longer than two minutes is annoying

They cost nothing to make and "people" watch them

Its easy T.v. fodder. No need to write a story, its cheap and all you got to do it put a bunch of people who hate other people in a bad situation and you got a show.
 
Why do you think Cops has been on the air so long. It spawned because fox was having a writers strike at the time.

Because it's cheap and people will watch it.

I can't stand it either. I moved back down to school this past weekend, and getting away from my sisters and their god damned Bravo has been the biggest relief.  Bravo shovels some of the worst shit onto their network. It's all the same format: edited to no end in order to manufacture drama and tension.
 
The top model shows are /literally/ unwatchable, food network is lame as hell too (I know most people love it, sorry), and there was some other show called "Shark Tank" or something that was SO bad. Everyday people present their business ventures to a roundtable of snooty, pretentious cocks who delight in tearing the pitchers apart and degrading them. Can't bear to watch this fucking DRIVEL.

It's funny how they actually expect us to believe shows like Paris Hiltons My New BFF and Tila Tequila A Shot at Love.  How could those even possibly have new seasons...but yet they do.

Real people don't normally do real things so they need real people to be forced to do real things in front of a camera. The real world, in conclusion, is way overrated (and overwatched).

Because people are horrible and the cause (But never solution) to all of life's problems.

the network people know there are going to be people watching it. some of the shows i don't like to much like real world, Paris Hilton my new BFF, and others. it's mostly MTV and vh1 shows that have the bad reality shows. the first season was alright but i didn't think they needed to make another. the show is also stupid.

They get ratings and money. Plus, people are stupid enough to watch it.

I hate most reality shows too. Cops is pretty good and something I consider more than a reality tv show, but stuff like Jon and Kate Plus 8 just sucks.

" Simple: Money "

COPS is awesome.

Because reality TV shows aren't reality... and if it was we would sit down and watch the person watch TV and shit. Its called TV shows that take the best/most interesting parts if reality and claim it as reality shows.

I hate Reality TV, they're filled with really unlikeable people most of the time.

As far as I know realty TV shows (at least originally, some now are half reality and half scripted) are incredibly cheap to make and since the general populace seems to like them it makes them incredibly profitable. Even if they get lower viewing figures than a documentary or a sitcom they still earn more money and as such are on the air because they are a safe bet.

There has been some good "reality" shows, perhaps there might be some again, but most are crass money makes and are worthless.

" Because it's cheap and people will watch it. "

" @CitizenKane said:

" Because it's cheap and people will watch it. "

This is the only relevant reason and also why they aren't going anywhere for the foreseeable future. "

There are two catagories of reality TV.  There is the Real World style twenty-somethings in a house/competition/dating shows that are an absolute bore to watch and will drop your IQ down thirty points each time you watch an episode.  These shows are painfully scripted and about as far away from reality as you can get.   
 
Then there are Reality Reality shows as I like to call them.  These are the shows where a camera man or crew is attached to something and just films it.  Examples of these kinds of shows include The Deadliest Catch (my personal favorite show), Survivor Man, Ice Road Truckers, etc.  These are real Reality shows in my opinion and are an absolute blast to watch. 
 
It just sucks that producers want more of the Real World style shows because they just look for kids off the street to throw into a house for some-odd months and see what happens.  Its rediculous.  I wish that there was more of the second catagory so that my brain doesnt rot away.

Because people watch them.

People with no lives get sucked in to observing others peoples lives.

Anyone watching The Colony on Discovery Channel?  I think it's a great
idea to simulate a world wide disaster. Gather people with various expertise
skills & have them try & live off their environment or rebuild civilization.  I
think everyone should understand how to build a generator out of car
parts.
 
Tila Tequila still has a show?  I'll need to check that out.  For mindless
reality shows like Big Brother, etc, I usually just fast forward to the scenes
where they show a gal half-naked or so. Then when they get back to the
storyline, I hit the fast-forward button. 
 
If I want to see where they are in the game, there are summaries all
over the place, so no need to ever watch an entire reality show.  In fact,
except for The Colony, I've never watched a reality TV show from beginning
to end.

Because there are middle-aged housewives out there who watch it every goddamn night...