This subject has been debated over and over again on many other threads that you could dig up here with very little effort. I believe that the general consensus from everyone here is that yes, Carmen sucks (pun intended) as far as we are concerned. It is obvious that she could give a rats arse less about us and the bots. But, the fact of the matter is that we as builders are in the minority when it comes to viewership. Whether we like to admit it or not she does attract people to the show. I personally can't stand Hobag Electra (our team pit name for her) and think that she is about as bright as a black crayon (not that I have an opinion or anything).
As far as her salary, from talking to some of the CC producers and talking with Pete and knowing the cost of the box and her talent fees for three days, yes, she makes more money than the arena costs.
I for one have stated on many occasions that I would love to see Cathy Rogers take her place. At least she doesn't mind getting her hands dirty. And to top it off she is smart and damn cute. In my book that makes her MUCH more attractive than Ho... err, Carmen Electra.
As for Bill Dwyer, he has a genuine love for the sport. He is the only commentator of the whole group that comes in during prelims just to watch the matches and go around the pits and talk to the teams. If you think that all the stuff he says on the air is rehearsed then you are wrong. Much of it he just improvs of the top of his head and they like it so the shoot it again. He has a great sense of humor and is very quick witted. He is an asset to the program. Tim is getting better. Arj still needs to go. And, I briefly met the new guy but he seems nice enough (never got his name).
As for some of the skits, I agree some are pretty lame (I wound up being in one that was REEEEAL lame and didn't know it until I got into it :-p) but CC is putting up the big bucks to get this whole gig on television so they kinda have the final say. They are just trying to keep the show from getting stale. I know that WE all want to see robots duking it out but for the average channel surfing couch potato some fights just start looking repetitive. That's one of the reasons that our team went overboard with our uniforms and production. For good or bad we brought a little WWF (well now WWE) to the table. You'll see what I mean when the season starts.
Anyway, back to the original subject. Carmen sucks. I know it, you know it, most of the other builders agree, Trey knows it, Greg knows it, yadda, yadda, yadda. But, she brings viewers to the show, plain and simple. Like it or not, those are the facts and we just have to live with it.