After 30-plus years Y&R Goes off the air!

[DruRocks]

Y&R Goes Off the Air -- in Australia

Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2007 12:42:29 AM

Daytime drama series are an increasingly endangered species. With the announcement of Passions' cancellation last week still looming large, Australian soap fans are about to get their own dose of bad news. The top-rated American soap, The Young and the Restless, is about to end its 30-plus-year run on Australian television.

The Young and the Restless has been airing on Australia's Channel 9 since 1974, just a little over a year after the show's March 26th, 1973 debut in The States. But even in Australia the soaps are fighting a ratings slump - and Y&R is about to be replaced by a much cheaper fare: a talk show.

Insiders in the Aussie television world hint that comedian Libbi Gorr will assume Y&R's 2:00pm timeslot with a talk show entitled "The Catch-Up." The talk show is scheduled to hit the airwaves as early as mid-February.

A spokesperson for Channel 9 declined to comment on the possible demise of Y&R, saying that the network was "looking at updating the schedule, which happens every year."

Days of our Lives, which also airs in Australia on Channel 9, is not expected to be affected by the "cancellation" of Y&R.

There is still a glimmer of hope, however, as Sony, the worldwide distributor of The Young and the Restless, is said to still be in talks with Channel 9.

[Mitchapalooza]

Good to hear that DAYS OF OUR LIVES is still going to be airing there!!!

God What's next? BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL goes off the air in ITALY?? My cousins/aunts would FREAK!!!

[DruRocks]

I hope Sony can do something.

[Josh]

Shame upon you Dru!! LOL!! You scared this poor Oklahoma boy...

[Manny]

I just read online that YR was picked up by some Australian cable network and it will continue to air in Australia..

[dawn9476]

Yeah. TV Guide.com is reporting another network in Australia picked it up.

[FrenchFan]

In France, Y&R and B&B have very good ratings (even DAYS is well). 4 millions of watchers for Y&R every day (only 62 millions inhabitants in France).

[crc]

From Variety:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111795810...yid=14&cs=1

[DruRocks]

Well, that's good to hear that the show will be continuing over in Australia I hope Channel 9 sorely regrets getting rid of it.

[Drew]

Its all to do with the timeslots of the soaps overthere. The aussies are definitely soap watchers. 1.75 million tuned into the 2007 premiere of Home and Away, and the show is currently amidst a ratings spike, bringing it to #1. The cast are pop culture icons, whereas our soaps stars would never be covered in a magazine or tabloid. And quoting my source for the australiann #s "Congratulations to Home And Away, which has taken out top spot in the Australian Ratings, for not one, but to nights" -- which to me, sounds like it either could possibly be the highest rating program in general of the night, or the writer is very general in his news reports.

I actually did some calculating -- completely unscientific.

Of Australia's total population, 20,264,082 (July 2006 est.), 8.48% watched the premiere of Home and Away.

Of the US's total population, 298,444,215 (July 2006 est.), 1.97% watched the highest rated soap, Y&R last week.

(just to give these #s a bit of perspective - 7.17% of the US total population watched the last episode of Greys Anatomy)

That % is especially bad for the US soaps, considering here it is currently winter and most are indoors, there it is summer; and the US is the bigger couch potato nation in general.

I genuenly feel in order for the US soap genre as a whole to survive, they are going to have to adapt a model closer to the UK/Australia model. Soaps airing prior to the primetime schedule, and not as many shows per network. Like - an hour tops per net.

[EricaKane4life]

This is unbelievable! The soap industry in the U.S. has got to wake up man I tell you.