Well, perhaps the question is: better for who? I can't watch most mainstream TV shows with my little kids. Witcher, GoT, etc. Perhaps mainstream TV of the 70s was forced to be better for a broader audience.
The shows are better for me, more entertaining, more exciting, etc, but not better for everyone in the house. The sharding of entertainment into different age groups leads to people not sitting together and watching a show together, and instead we're all in different rooms with headphones. imo that's worse.
You can watch shows that your kids will enjoy and are appropriate for them. After all, such shows exist. You just don't want to.
Meanwhile, I can watch shows with violence, nudity and adult themes because there aren't only three channels and not everything has to be child appropriate.
The shows are better for me, more entertaining, more exciting, etc, but not better for everyone in the house. The sharding of entertainment into different age groups leads to people not sitting together and watching a show together, and instead we're all in different rooms with headphones. imo that's worse.