It's not just that music was better, or, there is a reason why it was "better." It's too cheap to say "better."
You had to use the moment. Production values overall were better. The same can be done now.
Television and film were "newer" and more dominant mediums so there were all of these techniques being played with and invented. Producers were basically creating and speaking in a certain vernacular. They understood how to get an audience invested and how to build the moment. They understood the medium inside and out.
But again, that was the result of the medium being more dominant and less saturated, also the audience being more mature and educated.
Coltrane and Brubeck on the intro.