The Young and the Restless, other soaps experience series-low ratings
According to a report from Daytime Confidential, The Young and the Restless, Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful, and General Hospital are all experiencing some series-low ratings so far this month. The news is somewhat surprising for a few different reasons, including that several of these shows (save for Days of Our Lives) recently came back with new episodes and you would assume that there would be a demand for them.
Yet, one of the things that soaps rely on for viewership is consistency — you’re getting new episodes virtually year-round, so having a long break may have caused some longtime viewers to develop new habits. Or, maybe viewership preferences are changing with an increased number of people at home. Maybe there are some viewers who aren’t simply aware that some of the shows are back yet.
While there are more viewers seemingly in a spot to watch more of these shows than ever before, we can’t pretend like soaps pre-pandemic were a burgeoning business. While they’ve been able to stay afloat, the past couple of decades have seen significant declines with the increased amount of options out there for viewers. It’s harder and harder to capture new generations of viewers, especially those who don’t spend as much time watching traditional TV. Hopefully, all of these shows are able to correct some of these trends — shows like The Young and the Restless are staples, and we’d hate to see something happen that by and large curtains a significant chunk of television history. There are things that do happen within this medium that you just don’t see anywhere else.
Of course, we concede that these ratings numbers may not account for every digital viewing out there but even still, there are concerns over the declines.
What do you think about the ratings for The Young and the Restless and some other shows declining?
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