Wow, I just watched an original uncut airing of THE PIG WHO CAME TO DINNER (w/Bobby Riggs) and it was just under 26 minutes in length, about 25:45. Today, in the same 30 minute block, you'd be lucky if the sitcom hits 23 minutes.
shareIt's called greed. Less work + more advertising dollars = happy actors. Happy actors = happy network.
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Advertising revenue means the networks have more $$$. Actors and their agents want a piece of that pie, so the actor wins out every time (almost). If an actor isn't whining about his or her contract, the network can breathe easier. Remember shows like What's Happening, where Fred Berry and, later, Ernest Thomas made a huge stink over their money and briefly walked out? And cutting a 26-minute show to 23 minutes is a reduction of 11.5%, no matter how you look at it. If your boss said to you "I'm giving you more money starting tomorrow and instead of working 40 hours a week, you only have to work 34 hours and 20 minutes" are you going to decline?
shareThe cutting of TV show lengths was partly a result of increased competition from cable TV and partly a revenue raising thing.
A 1-hour long program in the 1960's or early-1970's ran 50-51 minutes. Today, that same program lasts 42-44 minutes, depending on the show.
Don't forget, for sitcoms at least, they sometimes show the credits/intro while the show is running (like on "SEINFELD"). So part of the cut has been eliminated, since the old 'fixed' intros and ending-credits from the 1980's and earlier now are shorter and/or have actual parts of the show running.
23 minutes was more like 20 years ago. Now it's 21-22 minutes. The Big Bang Theory clocks in at 19-20 minutes and I have seen one episode timed at 18:50.
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