Two things
The last time I was in a Cheesecake Factory they had TV screens only in the bar area, not in the dining area.
I do not consider Cheesecake Factory an "up-scale scale restaurant." It's a chain store. . . serving pre-packaged frozen entrees. I'm referring to restaurants run by top name chefs that people go to because of the name, not the TV. I've eaten in up-scale restaurant's and I cannot think of any that had a TV outside of the bar.
Think restaurants such as Emeril's Del Monico in New Orleans. . . Or at the lower end Ruth's Chris Steak House, where if you're frugal, you and a date might get out with dinner for two for $160 (that's what it cost me four years ago!). . . no TV anywhere there. Or in Sacramento, The Firehouse, around $150 for two. Or any restaurant in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or Los Vegas with Emeril's, Gordon Ramsey's or Robert Irvine's name on it, where you can wind up paying a couple hundred for dinner for two. Restaurants with TVs don't fall into those categories.
And read the article again. . . it says nothing about patrons watching television in restaurants. It's about them playing with their personal smartphones. . . and I've seen it with my own eyes. Hell, to a certain extent, I've done it after I've ordered. The ONLY people looking at monitors or TV screens in the article are the managers of the restaurant doing the comparison. No patrons. . . except on their own personal devices.
By the way, this would be what would be considered a “destination restaurant.” One that does attract tourists. . . Note the article states “. . . popular with tourists and locals alike. . . “ which would indicate that it’s not your average run-of-the-mill “Sizzler,” or “Denny’s,” where one goes just because one is hungry. Some people travel to the city with the visit to that restaurant planned for months as one of their itinerary stops on their tour. People who go to a “destination restaurant” memorialize the visit with photos.