Are soaps in danger of extinction?

[GLATWT88]

Didn't know where else to post this, but I keep seeing this idea that BB will outlast the other soaps because of its appeal and reach in international markets. While I know this is true and definitely held weight in the 90s and early 2000s - how fair of an assessment and statement is that really. I feel like it is a comment that is regurgitated but no real data is there to back it up. I do think that international markets might help BB to be the last remaining soap, I just don't believe those markets are really doing as much nowadays to keep BB alive as we think. Streaming and social media apps are prevalent all over the world and people are seeking entertainment through these outlets. Traditional TV viewing has changed everywhere and young audiences aren't watching daily soaps be that in the US or internationally. So I can't imagine BB not experiencing dwindling audiences in its international markets as it has in the US. Im also sure several markets have dropped it in recent years...so how fair is it to say that international money will help keep it afloat. Is there real data to support this?

[SteelCity]

When you think about it, sitcoms are now gone. NBC doesn't even do them anymore. NBC doesn't do soaps or sitcoms. NBC has become The Today Show, The Voice, Chicago, Law & Order and Jimmy/Seth, sometimes broken up by AGT.

[Faulkner]

It felt like NBC pursued comedies with too narrow a potential audience in recent years. Yet, the Night Court reboot seems like a hit for them. ABC is doing gangbusters with Abbott Elementary and CBS is doing really well with Ghosts and their Thursday comedy block.

Edited February 6, 2023 by Faulkner

[SteelCity]

It's crazy that NBC started "Must see TV" and now doesn't have a single sitcom. I tend to think that they felt the same way that they felt about soaps. It's like they really don't want to do it. Look good they treated "Community" or "Great News."

[DramatistDreamer]

Don’t they now have the Night Court reboot? I have only seen two episodes but since I have streamed them on Peacock, I’m going to go ahead and assume that the terrestrial channel is also NBC, but yeah, one sitcom does not a lineup make.

This reminds me of how ABC’s TGIF no longer exists but they do have a monster hit in sitcom Abbott Elementary. CBS has their meat and potatoes sitcoms, a far cry from their edgy sitcoms of the 1970s (that most of us discovered in reruns during the 1980s) but it works for CBS which has leaned more conservative  for the past 25 years.

 

[Aback]

THANK YOU.

I agree 100%. By now it is a stereotype. What else is new? Boys don't cry, girls are docile?

[DramatistDreamer]

It feels like one of those statements that gets said so many times over the years that somehow it becomes accepted as if a fact. 
At this point, nobody really knows what soap could be the last one standing on terrestrial network television, there are so many factors that lead up to a cancellation. 
It reminds me of the oft repeated claim of the OJ Simpson trial ruining the daytime soap genre for good. The trial was just one of the factors, disjointed storytelling and a failure to adapt to shifted viewing patterns, the exodus of ad dollars are other factors, but the collapse of an entire genre is often boiled down to one year of a televised trial.

[dragonflies]

The show even promotes how popular the show is internationally. I know it's in Australia, Canada, quite a few European countries etc...

Are GH, YR, Days in other countries? I never hear of those 

[DRW50]

DAYS did run in other countries, like the UK. Not sure if it has in recent years.

[I Am A Swede]

B&B is the last soap standing here in Sweden. Days of Our Lives ran for a very long time as well, but it's been a few years since it became available only through streaming. Neither General Hospital nor Y&R really took off here. 

One soap that did become popular however was Sunset Beach. It has even been re-run at least once, possible twice.

[AMCOLTLLover]

I don’t think so. Soaps won’t die. Maybe in the old fashioned way on a daytime/evening line up. But primetime shows getting more and more Serial with the old fashioned style of cliffhanger endings and stuff. 
 

Soaps get streamed heavily.

i think if the Neighbours return this year on Amazon/ Freeve will be a success then this will lead to a bright future for soaps.

[Faulkner]

I know a lot of writers have gone fi-core, but I’m curious about how a writers’ strike would impact the remaining soaps. 

 

[~bl~]

It depends on the contracts, as if the DGA also strikes or SAG-Aftra then argh. The last strike was before the actors unions merged into one…so wondered if that would change anything.

[Contessa Donatella]

Beginning in 1946 & continuing on until today, the US daytime drama business created & produced 84 televised soaps. Now there are 4. 

In 1969-70 there were 19 soaps on the air. By 1990-91 it was down to a dozen. And, between 2009 & 2015 with two double whammies, took it down to the 4 we have today. But, it should be noted that all of broadcast scripted drama was experiencing the same decline. Going by 2009 when P&G took steps to get out of the soap business & going to now, 2023, that's 14 years we've been in this state.

So, I would say that soaps are in danger of extinction, of dying off, sure, but they have been for some time. Why is now scarier than before? Or is it?

And, if something dramatic did happen, like a writers' strike, then I can see how it would be much scarier, fast. 

Edited February 8, 2023 by Tonksadora

[Paul Raven]

B&B was popular overseas because viewers could be there from the start and the 30 min format worked for scheduling.

That's why Sunset Beach also did OK in some markets b/c it was new.

Expecting a viewer to jump into Days or Y&R after decades is a much tougher ask.

In terms of soaps dying the Big # UK soaps are all experiencing their lowest ratings. Of course all shows are dropping but Corrie no longer dominates the Top 10 as it did  a decade ago. But they still have plenty of life as they cheaply fill many hours of primetime and are rating OK.