CVM television will suspend programming of daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless (Y&R) during the staging of the FIFA World Cup 2010 between June 11 and July 11.

However, CEO David McBean declined to confirm claims of a permanent cancellation of the show following the World Cup. He told Sunday Finance that no decision has yet been made about the future of

the show.

“We are constantly reviewing our programme schedule but it wouldn’t be prudent to comment on that at this time,” McBean said.

He said the show would not be aired during the World Cup because, as part of the World Cup programming, the matches will be aired in the slot allotted to Y&R.

However, a Sunday Finance source said that the cancellation of Y&R is being planned amid declining commercial revenues from competition from cable channels’ Soap Network.

“It’s becoming too expensive to air,” the source said.

The local ‘review’ of Y&R follows on the declining popularity of daytime shows in the United States. What was once a booming business of 16 soaps has declined in recent years to just eight. US media pudits predict that with the evolution of television and viewers’ tastes to products such as TiVo and DVRs, resulting in decreased market share for soap operas, the demise of the genre is imminent. Younger viewers, if they are so inclined, watch soaps in less time on soap websites, networks and commercial free on YouTube. Additionally, with financially pressed advertisers failing to fork out the same amounts for product placement, the shows themselves have suffered, both locally and abroad.

“Television programming in Jamaica, as anywhere else, has undergone some changes, so if you look at the rise in reality shows…A lot of these shows have been running for decades and they have a life cycle,” McBean said of the soap programme.

Both NBC and CBS have moved to reduce soap actors’ salaries by as much as 40 per cent. The most problematic was in 2009 when Eric Braeden who plays Victor Newman, the lead star of The Young and the Restless walked away from the show after Sony took advantage of a clause in soap contracts to renegotiate the star’s salary every 26 weeks. Braeden protested his salary cut and two weeks later returned to the show with a new contract. Cast members of sister soap Days of Our Lives were not so lucky. Both Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans) and Drake Hogestyn (John Black) found that the ‘sands in their hourglass’ had run out when they were dropped in order to trim its budget and keep the show on air. Meanwhile, ratings of the 36-year- old show had declined in recent years, being voted ‘most disappointing soap’ in 2009 by TV Guide.

Set in Genoa City, Wisconsin, The Young And The Restless is a 36-year-old soap that centres on the saga between two wealthy families (the Newmans and the Abbotts) in the cosmetics industry.

“It is a good programme for us,” McBean said of Y&R, “But what you have to remember is that you would have competition even on your own channel with other programmes. The landscape has changed overtime. That is part of the evaluation that we are now doing,” he added. “You have to now determine what is now appropriate in terms of what you have to do.”

While acknowledging that the World Cup broadcast would result in a revenue increase, McBean would not disclose by how much. Nonetheless, The World Cup is known to be an advertising powerhouse. Britain’s ITV for example, anticipates a 15-20 per cent increase in advertising income from the World Cup broadcast by at least 20 million pounds. And even in South Africa, more than two million tickets have been sold so far for the tournaments’ 64 games.

Meanwhile, local viewership of Y&R is estimated to be between 144,000 to 202,000 nightly according the the latest media survey. However, during Y&R’s 7-8 pm slot, TVJ’s newscast attracts approximately 800,000 viewers, more than doubling that of Y&R and potentially dwarfing comparative ad revenues.