Soap ratings take a dive

They used to be surefire hits for any network, but in recent months US soap operas have been losing significant ground to daytime chat shows.

For the first three months of the television season, Nielsen Media Research has uncovered an 18 per cent drop in viewership of soap operas among female viewers aged 18 to 34 at CBS, ABC and NBC.

It's a heavy blow for broadcasters which are under pressure from cable ...