Believe it or not, I've never really been one to watch soap operas and it seems that I'm not alone. According to a fascinating article in yesterday's New York Times, all of the soaps have been shedding audiences for years, with one exception... It appears that over the past seven months, the CBS drama “As the World Turns,” which has been chronicling the ecstasies and miseries of life in the fictitious town of Oakdale, Ill., for 52 years has actually picked up viewers between the ages of 18 and 34.
How could this be? Well, since its introduction of a gay-theme story line last summer, many younger viewers have tuned into ATWT, apparently after they were hipped to the story line via clips posted by fans to YouTube. This is a fascinating example of the power of viral media to breathe life into one of the most old-school types of communication. And speaking of old, let's not forget that CBS/Viacom's 85 year old chief Sumner Redstone, is one of the most prominent media execs beating the drum against YouTube's business model. Clearly, he's missing a valuable lesson in this case.
- Jon Fox