That's a valid point, Stilly. The Hour Of Stars programs that Twentieth Century Fox did for television were not comparable in production costs to the originals. I've only seen two.. Laura was a major disappointment, and the other movie (which I've already forgotten) was one I'd never seen the original of.
Of course, the reverse holds true... many classic tv movies were made into equally good, or better theatrical releases. Marty is the most obvious. They're showing Edge of the City on TCM this month... with Sidney Poitier and John Cassavettes. I originally saw it on television (from what I remember, with the same leads.) I thought they were equally good.
And then, the made Scooby Doo Where are You into a movie.