Synonym for
cheap programming, or
Voyeur TV.
Network suit: "Hey, rather than pay actors and crews real money, let's get some real people or some home videos and build a show around that. Even if 17 people watch it, we'll turn a tidy profit."
Examples include MTV's Real World, Fox's Cops and When Animals Defecate, ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos, and dozens of copycat shows.