How are Soap Operas still on air?
I remember these as a rugrat when my Mom had to leave us siblings for an afternoon here and there, and our babysitters might flip on something like Young & Restless or Bold & Beautiful or General Hospital as mostly background noise.
At this point maybe their only usefulness is filler for daytime TV blocks? Where the advertising money for detergent or margarine will keep coming in because those brands have sponsored Bold & Beautiful since the 1980s?
The traditional audience has aged and any potential new audience has gone to work. My generation of women who'd otherwise watch General Hospital don't stay home and thus are not captive to Soap Operas.