Young and the Restless Contract Disputes

by HVLong on November 02, 2009

The pinch of hard economic times, shrinking budgets, decreased ad revenues and a decline in viewing audience are at the heart of every contract dispute that daytime’s number one soap opera The Young and the Restless has faced so far in 2009.  Earlier this year, Jess Walton was rumored to have walked away when she was asked to take a pay cut, later it was Melody Thomas Scott and most recently was the highly publicized dispute between Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) and Young and the Restless executives.  Rumors had Braeden walking away from the requested pay cut and what he termed bad faith terms. Why was the veteran actor so upset?  Because his contract wasn’t up, CBS was exercising the right to renegotiate at the end of a 13 week cycle rather than waiting until his contract was actually up for renewal.

Braeden was reportedly done with the soap opera and several news outlets quoted the actor as saying he was done. Soap message boards lit up with protests at the ousting of such a beloved favorite and many wondered how Genoa City would ever be the same without patriarch Victor? A casting call for a billionaire fitting Victor’s profile fueled the flames and many fans stated they would not be watching the soap opera anymore if Victor left. Yet, less than a week after the flurry of protests, Braeden was back on contract and reportedly returning to the set along with on-screen ex-wife Melody Thomas Scott.  So was this a real dispute brought on by the tightening economic belt? Or was it a glorified publicity stunt after the amount of press devoted to Walton and Scott’s disputes?

I doubt anyone will really ever know. But for now Genoa City fans, Victor Newman will be back so hang in there.

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