Brand Identity: Network vs. Show

We've talked a lot about Brand Identity, but in the world of internet TV, I'm wondering how much it actually matters in terms of what people watch. They may identify with a certain network or say that it feels more them, but aren't the shows themselves more important? What prompted me to this was our class on our favorite shows. When I think of networks I like, I think Showtime, HBO, TNT, USA, Comedy Central. However, when I thought more closely, I actually only watch 1-2 shows on each of those networks. FOX, on the other hand, has House and Glee (my two favorite shows after Weeds), Bones, The Simpsons, Lie to Me... etc. When I think of a network I identify strongly AGAINST though-- the most immediate answer would be FOX. This definitely has mostly to do with its news programming, but that's such a defining characteristic, that for me to say, "I like FOX" would somehow feel blasphemous and wrong. When I go to watch a show, I usually just search online for the show itself and am rarely even aware what network it is associated with. That doesn't mean I don't have opinions and preferences about the networks based on the niche marketing that they create, but practically-- how much does that actually influence what I watch? I feel like I should like Bravo for instance, and I feel as though I would like to identify with a lot of the characteristics they try to assign to affluencers. I would say positive things about the Bravo identity when talking to my friends, but when I turn on the TV to Bravo shows, they rarely catch my interest long enough to stay on the channel. I guess the big question, then, is how much does network brand identity actually matter? Should individual shows be working to market themselves and create their brands more specifically as media becomes even more fragmented that society? (Obviously they do this, but not nearly on the scale as the networks as we studied in class..)