I wonder if Goodfella's question has not received any replies until now as a lot of what can be said on it has possibly been said before in these threads; nevertheless I can see why Goodfella is asking it now as it seems a pre-eminent time to take stock given the state of the channels right now and the changes that are going on around the scene. So, at the risk of covering old ground, I'll have shot at trying to sum up what definitely looks like a personnel issue for the channels atm!
It would seem there is, indeed, only a small pool of talent willing to attempt the babe shows just now and not enough proper development of promising newbies going on. The lure of dreadfully easy pickings once to be had by those that possessed of the right attributes has definitely diminished over the years as the recession took hold.
Early on a struggling market led to entrenchment among the operators i.e. a playing safe in particular with the recruitment of on-screen talent in the need to see a quick assured return from them revenue-wise. (Of course, a small talent pool also means those that do have a proven track record for such things can demand the highest fees.)
As previous years' such top names retired this precipitated a spiralling downturn: A declining market, volatile for its staff particularly its on-screen ones, led to less consistent shifts and money making on offer and, subsequently, even less top talent wanting to be involved, which abetted a further declining market. Some external change is needed to break this cycle if things are to improve significantly I think.
Maybe the recruitment cache and luster of the channels (ie. the ability to earn top $) will return at some point in the future if whatever channels can battle through
can, eventually, turn a real corner. But, as I say, I think they'll need some help to do so. The only light at the end of the tunnel that I can see is a change in delivery method for the channels (web>Smart TV) that
might free them from the restrictions imposed on their content. This
may spark a return to higher revenues for the channels.
But, equally, it may not.
It is all too easy too fall into the trap watching the babe channels under Ofcom to think that but for their existence everything would be rosy for the channels. But it may be that the babe channel's heyday was a mere fad - a passing genre soon to be as rare on TV as the anthology series!
But that's a bleak image. Let's hope that technology can yet save the babe channels. The British male's tommy* options would definitely be poorer without them!
*Maybe and old fart's term: Rhyimg slang - 'tommy tank'...