It used to be that the networks needed the daytime profits to finance the more expensively produced (and unprofitable) prime-time programs. By blending message and melodrama—ads were cunningly buried in the plot—"sudsers" became the perfect subliminal salesmen.

The soap format peaked at the 1981 wedding of Luke and Laura on General Hospital, with an estimated 30 million viewers tuning in. The show's popularity inspired a Top 30 song called General Hospi-tale. ("I just can't cope/Without my soap") and the movies Tootsie and Soap Dish.

In recent years, market leader Y&R has seen its audience shrink precipitously, to an average of 5 million total viewers in 2008. In the old days, soaps were generational—your grandmother got your mother hooked, and she, in turn, got you hooked.

Today the median age of viewers is rising, but older viewers are dying off (literally) and are not being replaced by younger ones. (The median age for Y&R is nearly 60.) If interested, younger viewers can watch soaps in less time on the official network websites and, commercial-free, on YouTube.

"There are as many theories about lost viewership as there are cheating spouses in daytime serials," says the blogger Toni Pimentel, who added that her Y&R spoiler Web site (young-restless.com) averages 2 million hits a month.

"Most obviously, more women work outside the home—or are otherwise occupied," Pimentel says. "And for those who are at home, and in front of a TV, there are more viewing options—hundreds of cable and 'speciality' channels—and don't forget the increasing popularity of talk shows."

The ratings of ABC's The View rose 16 percent in 2008. More than 4 million viewers now watch the gabfest, a comparative bargain.

When the cuts come, producers of the three CBS soaps turning a "marginal" profit may have little choice but to drastically chop production costs, lop off beloved characters, and renegotiate the salaries of those who are left.

Unfortunately for the networks, viewers say they tune in to see the old standbys. Unfortunately for advertisers, network-commissioned surveys have found that a large segment of the soap audience is poor, middle-aged African-American women. "That's definitely not the demo sponsors are targeting," says a network exec.

The world will continue to turn, but soaps may not be slippery enough to escape the current crunch.