The death keel for tv soaps is ringing louder each day.As financial crisis is hurting daytime soaps more than other shows, and may well doom them. Not so long ago, there were 16 soaps. Today, there are eight — with more cancellations seemingly imminent in the face of TiVo, D.V.R.’s, decreased market share, declining ratings, and the loss of financially pressed auto dealers as local advertisers.

 

When l was a kid my mothers favorite soap was Another World.She would watch it when she could and l remember being home from school sick and watching with her.Another World was taken off the air a few years ago making a little sad at the time.Now soaps have gotten a bad rap for actors that could not act yet some big name stars started on them.But soaps over the years tackled some pretty heavy social issues wife beating,child abuse,gay children,drug abuse,rape to name a few.Okay so they were also out there on the ailen visitors,how many times can one person get married on the show,affairs that would be endless and so on.

 

But the point is the soaps have always been there.you can leave for a day or a month hell even a year and pick up the story lines fairly quickly.People have gotten attached to favorite characters over the years.I followed the Robin and Stone love story on General Hospital for a year.He was HIV postive in time where gay men were dying and no one thought straight people could get it.Umm can you say wrong?Her heartbreak when she told him she too had it as he was dying.Little did l know that years later l would be dealing with some of the issues they acted out in my own life.And yes not all of it was cheesy or over the top.

 

It seems the death keel has really become a loud bang due to the fact of who is watching the soaps.Unfortunately for the networks, viewers say they tune in to see the old standbys. Unfortunately for advertisers, network-commissioned surveys have found that a large segment of the soap audience is poor, middle-aged African-American women. “That’s definitely not the demo sponsors are targeting,” says a network exec.

 

Some how l have a feeling that teens and some stay at home moms were missed in these surveys.And a lot of people hate to admit they watch Y and R like my four white male cousins…Sorry guys your secret is out.