The Fading Light From “Guiding Light”

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Will Guiding Light Be Turned Off For Good?

Guiding Light, is supposed to be switched off on September 18, 2009; “We will miss it”; “First the economy, now this, oh my God”; “awful, just awful”; are some of the responses from its loyal fans. Many more appropriate dirges have been coming forth from others since CBS’s announcement to cut the program was made on Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

This is supposed to be the end of a 72year old relationship, which started during the economic depression of the 30’s. But will it really be the end? The answer to that is still blowing in the wind, for even though the “die seems to be cast” for this program, the final analysis is largely dependent on viewers demand. On the other hand, daytime television viewing has seen a shifting trend in the taste of its audience over the last few years.

Looking At The Trend

Today’s daytime audience is younger than that of yesteryear. Home-schoolers, their young caregivers, and young home based business owners are the main ones who make up that audience, while the audience of yesteryear consisted of retirees, women outside the workforce and the more mature night shift workers. It seems therefore that this difference in the age range of the daytime audience is one of the main reason for the shifting trend.

What is the trend?  The soap operas are losing their Appeal.

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Dancing With the Stars

The new genre is gaining the audience’s  interest. The audience finds it extremely hilarious to see the actors dancing with professional dancers, especially if the star is a clumsy dancer.

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It seems as if the star is doing a good job here.

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This is impressive. The star here is actually very good, and  the audience can identify with this. The audience often thinks that the stars are usually poor dancers, so they get a pleasant surprise from this one.

Why are the soap operas losing their appeal?  They are laid back, and today’s audience has a crave for excitement.

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This handsome guy made the People’s magazine list of the hottest bachelors in 2008.

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In this game of The Bachelor he humors his audience, as he gives a red rose to each of the four girls who are competing for him.

The younger audience has a big taste for a different genre, like the Reality shows and the talk shows. They get more fulfillment from viewing reality shows like The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, American Idol, and Dancing With The Stars, than from watching conservative soap operas. Subsequently, the soaps like Guiding Light have very little competitive edge with this type of audience.

What is it about reality shows that make them so appealing to this younger audience?

It’s their candidness. The the overall candidness of the guests, the hosts, and their audience. The audience  likes the explicit discussion of sex, betryal and lust, and the display of strong emotions like anger, and rage.

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In her frankness, she told one the judges that she didn’t care what he thinks.Funny? It gives the audience the humor that they seek, a lot to laugh at.

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How did these three attractive girls survive after leaving the stability of their home for the big city? They are living in this playboy’s mansion. Intriguing!

Because of this trend, producers see higher ratings for these shows. Advertisers see these as their market place to make bigger sales and more profit.

So the goodbye to Guiding Light may be final, and it may also be a precursor to the death of the other soaps, which will ultimately be tossed aside for the more profitable, paid programs.