No, O.J. Simpson and his internationally covered trial are not responsible for the downfall of daytime soaps. But that is a theory that we have heard time and again from various people. Ratings for all television programs are much lower today than back then, and they were lower then than they were years before. In 2009 there are more channels, more options (the internet for one) and more desire for instant gratification, but there is no doubt that the audience for quality continuing drama is still out there.
Fans are watching primetime soaps in droves, telenovelas are constantly breaking ratings records, new online soaps are popping up all the time, and even text soaps like ANOTHER WORLD TODAY are part of the landscape. What we want is quality, and fans of good serial drama will seek it out whether it's on at 2pm in the afternoon or late night or online.
We can debate the many reasons some of the daytime soaps are struggling. We probably would all agree that the writing is a major problem. The one thing we know for sure is that a major television drama unfolded live on our screens 15 years ago today - the O.J. Simpson chase down a Los Angeles freeway.
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