How vapid were the early 2010s?

[Bohandas]

Depends what you mean by "basically all the same" I guess. Back in the 50s and early 60s when there were just two channels in the UK, there probably wasn't a lot to choose between them in general terms: both would broadcast dramas, comedies, the news, light entertainment, and children's programmes, at broadly similar times of day. Obviously you might well have a preference for one broadcaster's talent or particular shows over another, and there was the occasional smash hit that became a must-watch, but for the most part you could watch either and get a very similar experience. There might have been a slight difference in overall tone (Auntie slightly more starchy and establisment; ITV a little more populist) but a lot of that perception was also probably simple tribalism.

Exactly. I don't know specifically about Britain or the 1950's, but I know that as long as I've been around ABC, NBC, and CBS have been more-or-less interchangable

And admittedly the channels I usually watch are mostly interchangable with each other, but none of them are interchangable with the three ancient channels. Nor are they interchangable with the channels my father watches, which are, again, interchangable with each other but not with the big three or with my channels.