'Wire' creator Simon praises pay-TV drama

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. TV producer David Simon, creator of the TV series "The Wire," says in Scotland that pay television has helped create higher quality dramas.

The Guardian said Friday that Simon blames advertising for limiting the story-telling quality of TV dramas as commercials became more frequent and occasionally out-shone the series themselves.

"In terms of being literate and telling stories television short-changed itself from its inception and that's because of advertising," said Simon, whose "Wire" aired on HBO.

Simon said premium cable allowed dramatic series to flourish since such networks showed series uninterrupted without commercials.

"Only when television managed to liberate itself from the economic constraints of advertising was there real emancipation of the story," Simon said at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.

"Up until the point of premium cable, it was all about the interruptions every 13 minutes … the ads were the point of the show."