Soap Operas are losing million of viewers, why?

Question

Young and the Restless had 5.9 million viewers last year...
now they slipped to 3.9 million viewers this year.

As the World Turns had 3.5 million viewers last year...
now they slipped to 2.1 million viewers this year.

So I believe by 2010, Soap Operas will be ALL GONE OFF THE AIR. Because every year, they are losing million of viewers every year.

What will tv be like without soap operas? Will they be missed?

Or do you think they should go ahead and end Soap Operas
cause they need to move on and do some new shows such
as new game shows and reality shows?

What do you think?

Answer 1

I think soaps are here to stay.

Answer 2

We certainly don't need any more reality or game shows. If it's true that soaps are losing millions of viewers, it could be the time of day they're on. There are so many women working now that they don't have time to watch. I tape Y&R every day. Many people just don't have time for soaps these days.

Another thing could be the commercials. This is the main reason I tape my show. :-) There are more and more commercials between scenes now and the commercials seem longer.

In my opinion, the loss of viewers can be blamed on the writing and storylines. They recycle story lines and bring back dead characters far too often. At one time, I watched three other soaps faithfully, until the storylines and writing became so absurd I quit watching them. I have never gone back and I never will. Y&R is the only soap I've stuck with over the years and it's even starting to bore me and get on my last nerve.

There is too much wasted talent in the soaps. So many really good actors having to do rediculous scenes, and the characters they play are changed too often by the writers. One week you love the character, then the next week you hate him or her.

Soaps today are getting so predictable. Storylines are drawn out too long. Stars we grow to love leave or get fired, and some are replaced by actors who don't fit the part. I just think the writers of soaps are scraping the bottom of the barrel for stories to keep us interested. Instead, they're boring us to tears and/or causing us too much frustration.

Answer 3

I am only speaking for myself but I think when the Today show goes to 4 hours September 10 they will lose viewers of the people who used to watch Passions. I don't know what I'll watch now because the Ellen show is moving into the 1:00 time slot opposite As The World Turns. I may have to stock up on blank tapes and tape Ellen. I think that yes soap operas will be missed. I think they(network people) need to get rid of the reality shows, crime related shows and home improvement shows and ask the public what they would like to see. I also don't like the way that the Young and Restless is not on until 4:00 in the Midwest.
I also think that they need to get rid of the medical drama series like ER and Grey's Anatomy.
I like shows like Ugly Betty and Kyle XY. I also hope that the series Wildfire comes back that was on ABC Family.
I can do without all the sports channels that I have with my cable subscription!
I think if it came down to it I could read about what happens on the soap via the Internet. I also think that they have way too many game shows!(Even though I like Wheel of Fortune!)
I have always watched ATWT and Young and Restless.
Oh well, that is just what I think.

Answer 4

let me break it down, first NBC has switch gears to more news shows. With Passion going or gone, not a fan. The have expanded the Today show. Days, is being signed by the year. I can see NBC eliminating its last soap in the next year or two.
CBS, is the only network with four soaps. However, GL and ATWT are both at the bottom of the ratings. I can see GL being canceled, however, this will prompted B&B to extend to an hour. ATWT moving to GL old time slot.
ABC, all of their shows are sharing the same ratings with GH in the lead. ABC, has commented they are committed to keep their shows on the air. However, with soapnet they can probaly get more money for each show. With the new technology, I can see a further swing in soaps getting canceled.

Answer 5

They are losing millions of viewers due to the pitiful story lines! Y&R: Gloria needs to go to prison. They keep bouncing that story from almost caught to almost forgotten. It's ridiculous. Sharon should shut up and go away. She is a whiny puke. Brad needs to get caught for murder and all the other C-R-A-P he has done and continues to do. B&B: Brooke should be best friends with Sharon (Y&R). She's a whiny puke too; always thinks she has to have a bed partner. It's almost pushed to the limits of a sickness. Constantine is nasty. Needs to at least comb his hair once in a while. Why they ever put him on the show is still a mystery to many.

Maybe the writers need a vacation so they can get some fresh, new, creative stories going.

Answer 6

I think it's because more and more women are either single and have to work or married and have to work. Also, a lot of the soaps have gotten really boring. They drag out storylines so long that even the most devout fans get tired and stop watching for months at a time and then go back to watching and are caught up in a couple of days. They have to do things quicker and make them more exciting if they expect them to last! Also, you should factor in Soap Net with your numbers, because a lot of people are watching at night due to work and the fact that nothing is on anyway!

Answer 7

I don't know about the rest but I can tell you the reason why Young & the Restless lost so many viewers. Three words Lynn Marie Latham "aka" LML. Every since she took over as head writer loyal viewers have stopped watching because the legacy & the storylines have went down the tubes. You may be right. It may be before 2010. They'll be replaced reality shows.

Answer 8

I personally have just started watching soap operas again in the past year. I'm home during the day and work at night.

I think that there will always be a place for soap operas in our culture as an escape, so even if the current ones were to go off the air a new one would take its place.

Answer 9

Daytime TV would not be the same without soaps. Daytime is where the networks make the most money as far as advertisement. Soaps are very important to television so I think they will be around. The networks need to give them the attention they used to give. Now they give it all to primetime. The soaps need to go back to what made them so great and that as great story telling. All these young kid stories and pretty people that can't act worth a quarter have killed daytime. Lets get back to what it's all about...the story they tell. We are the most layla fans (soap fans) and as long as we are around, the shows will be too.

Answer 10

No I do not think they will go off the air, but they may all eventually shift to a cable network like Soapnet. It is similar to what has happened to kids cartoons over the years, they use to be on the networks but now are almost exclusively on cable.

Soaps need to realize that the audience has shifted. They need to stop appealing to teens who are not watching them and appeal to the 40-50-60 crowd. And they need to realize that those of us in the 40-60 crowd are very different then our parents. I think it is shame that such soap actors as Tony Geary, Tristan Rogers and Finola Hughes are shoved aside because they are considered old. Soaps also need to look at what made them hot in their hey day, it was wild plots and "super stories" not silly things like baby changeing and such.

More exciting plots are a must, the pace does not really need to be faster but fresher

Answer 11

There are more woman working than ever before. And we are all busier than ever before. Besides, the story lines go too slowly. They need to have things happen more quickly. I think that many of the evening shows are soap operas with the faster moving pace. Like" Army Wives", "Desperate Housewives", just to name a few. Lifetime network has really been putting out some great shows. Check it out, this should be the wave of the future.