all contract cast members (as well as recurring and guest actors) during the closing credits, instead of the opening title sequence. Until the 1990s, these series listed only a few of the principal actors at the end of the episode in certain episodes airing on Monday through Thursdays. Because of the aforementioned reasons, an extended credit sequence featuring a complete list of the show's cast members – listed alongside the characters they portray – typically airs at least once per week (usually on the Friday show; although since the 2000s, most soap operas – with General Hospital as one of the few exceptions – have randomized the day the cast list is shown). The Young and the Restless became the first American daytime soap to include the names of its contract actors in the opening credits in 1999 (although due to the large number of actors on contract with the show at one time, it utilizes different versions of the title sequence with a randomized list of about nine actors, increased from the seven listed in each version until 2017); The Bold and the Beautiful listed its entire main cast (as well as some actors appearing on a recurring basis) from 2004 to 2017, with General Hospital following suit from 2010 to 2013. ( The Young and the Restless is the only American daytime soap opera that lists the names of its main cast during both its opening titles and extended closing credit sequence.) Decline Statistics and trends Soap opera ratings have significantly fallen in the U.S. since the 2000s. No new major daytime soap opera has been created since Passions in 1999, while many have been cancelled. As of September 2022, only four daytime soap operas – General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful – are airing on three broadcast networks, down from a total of 12 soaps broadcast during the 1990–91 season and a high of 19 in the 1969–70 season. This marks the first time since 1953 that there have been only four soap operas airing on broadcast television. The Young and the Restless, the highest-rated soap opera from 1988 to the present, had fewer than 5 million daily viewers as of February 2012, a number exceeded by several non-scripted programs such as Judge Judy. Circulations of soap opera magazines have decreased and some have even ceased