Breaking News! CBS cancels 'Guiding Light'

CBS confirms that, after 72 years, it is ending the longest-running scripted program in broadcasting history, the soap opera Guiding Light.

The last broadcast is scheduled for Sept. 18.

The move came after several years of a steep ratings decline for the soap.

CBS and the producers of “Guiding Light” had taken several steps in recent years to try to keep the show running, including switching to a digital format that was intended to reduce costs.

That move saved money but not enough to save the show. This year the audience for “Guiding Light” declined to just 2.1 million viewers. Its pattern over recent years had been steadily downward from 3 million viewers five years ago.

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