By 1974, the other networks had plugged in surprisingly strong game shows (CBS' "Tattletales" and ABC's "The $10,000 Pyramid") at 4:00 p.m. As a result, numerous affiliates began preempting the program in favor of cartoons, syndicated programming (including game shows, sitcom reruns, variety shows or talk shows), old movies, and sometimes locally-produced content. Perhaps the nail in "Somerset's" coffin came when ABC acquired "The Edge of Night" from CBS in December 1975 due to CBS' expansion of "As the World Turns" to an hour in length, itself a response of sorts to NBC eleven months earlier expanding "Another World" to a full hour and its NBC sister soap "Days of Our Lives" likewise three months later, with both expansions being successful. ABC placed "The Edge of Night" against "Somerset" in the 4:00 p.m. time slot. Although "Somerset's" ratings had improved during its final year, under the guidance of new head writer Robert J. Shaw, they were ultimately not enough to save the program from cancellation. NBC announced the cancellation of the program in the fall of 1976, and the show aired for the 1,710th and final time on New Year's Eve. "Somerset"'s place on the NBC daytime schedule was given to "The Gong Show," which became a popular-culture phenomenon eventually. The latter series' timeslot, 12:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m. Central), was given to a new Procter and Gamble-packaged soap, "Lovers and Friends" which would later be retooled into "For Richer, For Poorer". Both shows fared worse in the ratings than "Somerset".