How Long Can Daytime Soaps Survive?

Are you a fan of soap operas? Millions of men, women, and teenagers are. Whether you enjoy watching General Hospital, All My Children, One Life to Live, The Young and The Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, Guiding Light, As the World Turns, Passions or Days of Our Lives, you may have noticed a few changes over the past few years. These changes may be causing you and other views concern. How much longer will daytime soaps be able to survive? The answer is impossible to predict, but the hints being dropped are shocking.

One of the most noticeable changes in today's soap operas is the elimination of veterans. Veterans, also referred to as vets, are soap stars who have been in the business for a long time, many as long as thirty or forty years. These individuals are rapidly disappearing from our screens. The individuals in charge are making the decision to go with newer, younger stars. One of the reasons for this is budgetary reasons. As the popularity of daytime soaps slowly decreases, so do the ratings. Advertisers take notice of this and are pulling their commercials from the daytime television time slots or offering less money for their advertisements. This has led many daytime soap opera producers to believe that they cannot afford their veterans stars. Unfortunately, many do not realize this very act is what is costing them fans.

Another sign of failure is the constant reuse of sets. In the past, soap operas involved numerous sets. These sets are difficult and costly to take up and put back down. For that reasons, stage sets are being reused, more than ever. In fact, there is a good chance that you have noticed this. If you think that so and so's bedroom looks just like a room at the local hotel, you are probably right. In fact, if you watch CBS's Guiding Light, you may have noticed that many characters now reside at the Beacon hotel. When the place "caught on fire," it was wondered what would happen to all of the residents. Of course, it was reveled that only half of the hotel burned down and miraculously everyone still had a place to live. This is just a small, but funny example of how sets are being used in daytime soaps. No matter what show you watch, you have probably seen this for yourself.

Product placement is also increasing in daytime television. Once again, Guiding Light comes to mind. Please note I am not targeting the show; it is one of my favorite. Perhaps, that is why I notice these signs on Guiding Light more than any other soap because I watch it more. Guiding Light is owned by Procter and Gamble. Pringles, the chips, have been mentioned on numerous occasions. In fact, they aren't just mentioned, but a can of Pringles is shown. It was cute the first time, but after the forth or fifth time it got old. I understand that this form of product advertisement may help to save soap operas, but they could at least pick another product!

The above mentioned changes, although designed to preserve the future of daytime soap operas seems to be doing more harm than good. Viewers are noticing the absence of their favorite characters, the extra product placements, and the same sets being used over and over again. In fact, visit any online soap opera message board and you will often find writers, producers, and other staff being referred to as TIIC. TIIC often means "The Idiots in Charge." If this doesn't show how fans feel, I don't know what else can.