“How to stay on the air for half a century? Ask ‘The Young and the Restless'”

Robert Thompson, Trustee Professor of television, radio and film in the Newhouse School and director of the Bleier Center for Television and Pop Culture, was quoted in the Marketplace story “How to stay on the air for half a century? Ask ‘The Young and the Restless’.” Professor Thompson, an expert on all things pop culture, says that “if you can get more viewers for a cheaper show, like a ‘Dr. Phil,’ or an ‘Ellen,’ or a ‘Kelly and Ryan,’ or ‘The View,’  or any of these, eventually the cost benefit of continuing this venerable old genre begins to look a lot less attractive.” Yet, soaps are still cheaper to produce and have continued for years.