the late '60s, however, advertisers had pulled out of the TV production business, except for soap operas and occasional specials. Two cost factors were responsible, explains Kiechel. First was the "seemingly inexorable rise" in the price of commercial air time, which discouraged the typical advertiser from betting all his dollars on one show. Second was the increase in the cost of producing programs. Ad- vertisers responded with "package buyingu-the practice of purchasing commercial...