[Archive 2009-12-10] 'World' stops turning for longest-running US soap opera

Historical archive — originally published 2009-12-10. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

As the World Turns, the longest-running soap opera on American television, was canceled Tuesday by CBS, the network which has aired the show since its first episode in 1956. This news comes just three months after the ending of Guiding Light, formerly the longest-running soap in radio and television history, which had entertained generations of Americans for seven decades.

The cancellation comes at a particularly bad time not only for the people involved with producing the soap, but also for the soap opera industry in general. With the cancellation announcement, the number of daytime soap operas on the air in the United States will shrink from seven to six. By comparison, there were 12 soap operas on the air in 1997 and 19 in 1973.

The series, which focuses on the lives, loves and torments in the small Midwestern town of Oakdale, will have a nine-month swan song; the final episode will not be airing until September 2010. Until that time, Procter & Gamble's TeleNext Media will be trying to find a new home for the show, either on another television network or online. If As the World Turns leaves the air entirely, Procter & Gamble, the company which coined the term "soap opera," will officially end its 76-year partnership between its cleaning products and the dramatic medium.

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