The long-running daytime drama As the World Turns will be turned off in September, CBS announced Tuesday. The series, which debuted in 1956, is currently the oldest soap opera following the demise of Guiding Light earlier this year. However, the audience for the soap has dwindled to just 2.5 million viewers, too few to justify its expense. Producer TeleNext Media, the so-called successor-in-interest to Procter and Gamble Productions, which originally produced the soap opera, said that it was "proactively seeking a new outlet" for the show. It also produced Guiding Light and was unsuccessful in finding a new home for that series. It reportedly has been negotiating with Lifetime to bring both dramas to that cable channel. In an interview with the New York Times, CBS Chairman Les Moonves said that the cancellation of As the World Turns marks the end of an era. "All good things come to an end," he said, "whether it's after 72 years [Guiding Light] or 54 years or 10 years. It's a different time and a different business."