(CNN) -- On the last episode of reality ...



"Guiding Light," a mainstay of CBS' daytime schedule for decades, airs its final episode Friday.



Jon left Kate and his eight children and took up with the party girl Hailey. Audrina got a restraining order against an alleged stalker. NeNe got into an argument with Kim during a photo shoot. And Rachel was attacked -- yet again -- by one of the city tabloids.



With plot points like this, who needs soap operas?



Certainly not most of America. In the past decade, the audience for soap operas has dwindled, as has the number of what broadcasters call "daytime dramas." Younger viewers, in particular, have gravitated toward reality shows, which feature the melodrama and outsized characters of soaps; it's perhaps no coincidence that the co-creator of MTV's "The Real World" and several other reality shows, Mary-Ellis Bunim, started as a soap writer and producer.



The latest soap victim, CBS' "Guiding Light" -- a show that began on NBC Radio in 1937 -- went out Friday after 72 years on the air.  Watch how "Guiding Light" became an institution »



On the final episode, long-entwined characters Reva Shayne and Josh Lewis decided to "go on an adventure" together, in Lewis' words. Other characters also received their moments.



Fans have lamented the passing of the show, which has followed the Springfield clans of the Bauers, Spauldings, Coopers and Lewises for decades.



"I've been watching 'Guiding Light' for the past 20 years," says Ashley Dos Santos, an account executive and pop culture expert with the Washington-based public relations firm Crosby-Volmer. "I think it's really, really sad."  Gallery: Stars who started on soaps »



But, as a (well) realist, she adds, "not surprising." She knows the trends, and the trend for soap operas is going in the wrong direction. Read a short history of soap operas



"It's very difficult to see how it could have survived," she says, noting that even she's ceased to follow "GL" in the past few years. With the multichannel universe, particularly the alternatives of talk shows, judge shows and reality shows, "I feel that a lot people, if they have to make a choice, they'd rather see 'Ellen.' "



Michael Sands, a Southern California-based media consultant, is blunter. "Soaps are passe ... old-fashioned," he says. "They're boring and stale. The public thrives on real-life drama. I'm surprised soaps lasted this long."



Not so long ago, such a dismissal would have been unfathomable. In the three-network arrangement that dominated for decades, soaps ruled daytime -- there were 19 in 1969-70 -- and even spawned prime-time variations, such as "Peyton Place" and "Dallas."



"The 1960s and '70s were an unmatched era for soaps, with women at home and just three or four [network] choices," says Sam Ford, an analyst with the communications firm Peppercom. He has a book on the genre due out next year.



Soaps developed a formula: slow-moving, multiple plotlines; multigenerational casts, gathered in seaside towns or local hospitals. Some even broke ground, airing taboo subjects -- abortions, homosexuality, marital rape -- before prime-time shows.



But events have conspired to kill off daytime dramas. With more women in the workplace, there are fewer at home to watch the soaps. The genre was slow to adjust to new technologies; even now, with the SoapNet cable channel and Internet streaming, effective promotion is lacking, says Dos Santos, who observes that soaps fly under the radar compared to reality shows. "The networks aren't trying hard enough to make [soaps] relevant," she says.



There's also the loss of family watching, a handoff from mother to daughter to granddaughter,
When did it commence? When does "Guiding Light" goes off ? What goes off the air on Friday? What is the length of time that "Guiding Light" was aired?
in 1937 Friday. "Guiding Light," 72 years
question: When did it commence?, answer: in 1937 | question: When does "Guiding Light" goes off ?, answer: Friday. | question: What goes off the air on Friday?, answer: "Guiding Light," | question: What is the length of time that "Guiding Light" was aired?, answer: 72 years