Me brutha! 
Well of course. I was watching television 15 years ago, and enjoying it. Star Trek: The Next Generation, Northern Exposure, X-Files, good shows. I think the answer to my question is that I’m not seeing the dreck now, only the good. And the fact that most of the stuff I like is produced by cable stations is significant as well.
The growth of cable series has made television a lot better. I’d say also that most people are watching hi-def TVs now, and even if they’re looking at low-def feeds the visual quality is better anyway. That’s probably not what you meant by ‘better’ but it actually is a factor in enjoyment of television. I certainly hope you’re watching an HD screen. If not, you have no idea how much better it could still be.
The quality of television in the main stream has gone to hell in a handbasket. It is chuck full of reality crap. I mean…does anyone think that Honey Boo s**t is quality television. Or extreme couponing etc. etc. etc.
Plus the absolute inundation of commercials. Makes me want to scream.
Without Netflix and streaming I would not turn on the tv box at all. If I had to find Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire etc by scrolling through stupid commercials and reality entertainment I would probably just get rid of the television.
To both of your examples: no. These are TV trolling. They’re shows designed to make people watch and say, “ugh, who watches this?” And then continue to watch while complaining about it.
The signal to noise ratio of TV might be getting worse, but the best is getting better just as the bad is getting worse.
It takes a little effort and know how to sift the overload, but, if you do, the net result is a lot of very, very, very good TV.