It’s just super easy to mass generate reality TV content these days by using a competition model. Get a bunch of desperate weirdos in front of a camera to produce content for basically free. And they stick around because they like the attention, and for the promise that they can win some arbitrary prize that means a lot to someone who doesn’t have much but means nothing to a corporation, which is saving so much money compared to actually paying their talent real wages for content.

Think Survivor, American Idol, Big Brother, X Factor, Eurovision, Ninja Warrior, etc.