food store called Back to Nature. Father and son agreed to put the past behind them and concentrate on the future. They were left in a warm embrace as the scene faded to black for the last time. Ratings and cancellation Although Where the Heart Is achieved fairly healthy ratings, averaging a 6.7 and 26 share for its three-and-a half year run, it was typically the lowest-rated soap on CBS’ daytime schedule. Advertisers weren’t thrilled with the show, either, because demographics suggested the serial's attempt to attract a younger, less desirable cult audience. In February 1973, CBS found itself locked in a battle with NBC for daytime ratings supremacy, and went on to cancel Where the Heart Is and another “underachiever,” Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, in a bid to bring up the daypart's overall rating. As one industry insider revealed about the cancellations: "It was a matter of pride, CBS didn't like being third in the ratings. So, rather than struggle to improve the quality of these shows, it just canceled them." Where the Heart Is and the newsbreak that followed it (which later moved to 10:55 a.m.) were replaced on CBS' daytime schedule by The Young and the Restless, which would become the most popular TV soap opera in America for three decades running, and is still on the air as of 2022. Surviving episodes All 907 episodes of Where the Heart Is were recorded on videotape at the CBS Broadcast Center Studio #44 in New York. Like most soap operas of the late 60s/early 70s, it fell victim to the industry practice of wiping tapes for re-use. Although the master tapes for Where the Heart Is were erased, some rare kinescopes of the series remain in the possession of private collectors. Only seven videotapes of the soap are confirmed to exist. These are non-circulating copies stored at the UCLA Television Archives. The archived episodes were telecast: March 8, 16, and 24, 1971, April 1 and 9, 1971, and March 12 and 20, 1973. References External links 1969 American television series debuts 1973 American television series endings American television soap operas CBS original programming English-language television shows Television shows set in Connecticut