AlexMatthews

Daytime is currently going through a volatile period that has not been seen since 2009-2011, due to ad budget crunches when the housing market crash led to the forced cancellations of several high-profile shows, including four network soaps ("All My Children" and "One Life to Live" at ABC; "Guiding Light" and "As The World Turns" at CBS) and even "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which saw many affiliates balking at demands to pay higher license fees to keep the show on the air (it was just convenient the talk show was approaching its 25th season). With the NBC getting out of the first-run syndication business with the cancellation of all of its syndicated programs, including "Access Hollywood," "Access Daily," "The Steve Wilkos Show" and "Karamo," it's just proof that the networks and their syndication arms need high-performing shows that can retain daily viewership across all platforms, including Linear and Streaming, and commands a solid presence on Social Media. I won't say which genre still performs well in the aforementioned metrics, but let's keep watching them as all four that have remained in the 15 years since the last cancellation, plus the newest entry, continue performing far and wide better than all of the ever-dwindling crop of daytime programs that are getting their walking papers this year. I'll miss several of the shows leaving us in 2026, but we have to remember this is a year of change, and next month will be a big month for at least two of our five shows from a business perspective. Let's hope they get the vote of confidence they need, as three of their counterparts got last year.