So, what did Zenith do to make their CRT's fail quicker?

[eberts]

By 1990, Zenith already knew TV as it was then was in end phase.
They had already borrowed money from a Korean company using 55% of stock as collateral.
That means Zenith got a huge deposit on the sale of the company.
Zenith stated in their annual reports that they never made a profit in 20 years.
Governmental regulations regarding X-Rays and radiations also contributed to the degradation of picture screen quality, beam currents were lower compared to older tube designs.
I am sure equipment was no longer being maintained to the highest standards.
There is a video on you tube that explains why the "new low cost" tube Zenith was designing failed, it was to be completely assembled by robots and machines. "The human finger is hundreds of times more sensitive than any machine is capable of."
Looks like to me all the Korean company got in 1995 after the bankruptcy was a name, and an empty bag. Zenith name is great for marketing.
Electron guns were not designed or made to be cheap, the "shorting out" problems so common then in "inline" guns was an unforeseen event caused by close tolerences of the new design.
By then, "why bother pouring more money into research, use up what we got, cause the door is gonna close real soon."