"In day-to-day commerce, television is not so much interested in the business of communications as in the business of delivering audiences to advertisers. People are the merchandise, not the shows. The shows are merely the bait"

Les Brown's quote provides a critical viewpoint on the underlying motivations of television networks and the nature of the television industry as a whole. At its core, the declaration underscores the idea that tv's primary function is not to engage in the act of communication or to purely amuse and inform viewers. Instead, its main objective is to bring in and keep audiences who can then exist to marketers as a target audience. In this paradigm, the tv programs that audiences enjoy become secondary to the more comprehensive commercial goals of the network.

Brown's point of view recommends that television networks run mostly as organizations focused on making the most of earnings. The quote suggests that audiences are commodified; they are the real item being purchased and sold. Marketers are the actual consumers of these networks, as they pay hefty amounts for access to specific audience demographics. Hence, tv shows and content are tools or "bait" utilized to gather these audiences. In this sense, tv programming is crafted, set up, and marketed not entirely for its creative or informative worth, but for its prospective to attract a great deal of viewers, which can consequently be divided into lucrative sections for advertisers.

Additionally, this quote also alludes to the wider implications of such an industry structure. It raises questions about how much innovative liberty and risk-taking is acceptable within this framework and the degree to which material is tailored to fulfill the interests of marketers rather than audiences. It hints at a prospective tension between quality and profitability, as networks might prioritize shows that interest the widest audiences-- even if they are less substantive-- over specific niche or ingenious programs that may use deeper interaction or insight.

In general, Brown's insight invites audiences to be more critical about the media they take in, acknowledging the industrial forces at play and considering how these forces may shape the material they encounter on television.