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The Future of ABC Daytime


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It seems as if ABC Daytime is in serious trouble, with all its shows other than The Chew experiencing uncertain futures. This may not be popular, but I think that The View will experience a ratings decline after token conservative Elizabeth leaves. But even if that turns out not to be true, I don't see how the ratings can withstand Barbara's departure next year. (Plus, even with the current lineup in place, The Talk equaled The View's performance among women 18-49 last week.)

As we know, GH's ratings are falling, most likely due to the idiocy of Ron's stories. (Perhaps the timeslot change also hurt.) And Katie (which technically isn't part of ABC Daytime, but rather a syndicated show) is performing well below what ABC had hoped.

With all this instability, I think that ABC Daytime could look very different five years from now. To get things back on track, I recommend the following changes:

*Have more, not less, conservative representation on The View.

*Fire Cartini and move GH back to 3 PM Eastern.

*To boost ratings for The Chew, eliminate the silly banter among the hosts and just focus on the cooking.

*Cancel Katie a year from now if ratings don't considerably increase, and ask affiliates for that time back. In its place, either air a game show or the PP produced AMC/OLTL. (But if ABC decides to air AMC/OLTL, it is important that the network not tamper with storylines. That, in turn, will cause them to start sucking again.)

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I do think that liberal View watchers outnumber conservative ones, but I think that Elizabeth speaks to an important minority of View watchers. Once she leaves, I wonder if any conservatives will watch.

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I thought Elisabeth left already. The ratings for The View are definitely worrying for ABC but I don't see what is wrong with GH's ratings. Besides maybe 3 or 4 bad weeks, the show has been consistent at a 1.0 in W18-49, easily beating both The View and The Chew. Even with the timeslot change, most weeks GH is up from last year. The show itself is another story.

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Frank did say at the event this weekend that GH is constantly faced with cut backs, so they asked everyone to step up and they have. This, to me, means that with the exception of Howarth, Easton and Alderson, all have been asked to take pay cuts and/or gaurantees. Crazy when you think of the funds wasted to fight with PP as we add newbies each week.

Cut the 5 Livers as well as the "writing" team and bring in a new regime with writers who are willing to do just a bit more for a reasonable salary.

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I believe that most of those affiliates currently air Katie at that time, so perhaps getting that hour back following Katie's cancellation wouldn't be as difficult as it normally is (for networks to get back time they gave to affiliates).

That is a legitimate worry. Like I said, the ideal would be for AMC/OLTL to air on ABC five times a week, but for PP to have complete creative control of them. Perhaps that is like having my cake and eating it too, since in practice ABC would most likely interfere with those shows if they ever again aired on the network.
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Roger Howarth took a major cut when he returned to ABC. I expect he may have taken another since. I believe Easton also whined about taking a few. They're both still probably being paid too much to be on GH in lame new roles.

I don't think AMC and OLTL will be back on ABCD anytime soon, assuming they survive this long shakedown cruise. Even slightly cleaned up the shows don't fit the ABC Daytime/Disney profile anymore. The difference between them and the tone of GH or even chat shows like The View or The Chew is night and day.

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ABC just needs to work on being consistent. Most affiliates still air "Kelly and Michael" in the AM which is successful. "The View" needs to stick with good celebrity interviews and hot topics and not try to "sell" the backstage bickering of who's coming/going, "The Chew" seems to stay relatively stable, especially since it airs at lunchtime. It seems like most of the "GH" fans want the show to focus on actual GH characters and families, which I think is understandable and not too much to ask for. As for "Katie"...hopefully season 2 will stabilize. Do we know if Meredith Vierra's show could end up airing on ABC?? What are the chances that Meredith takes over for Katie TWICE.. after she left "Today" and then again with her talk show?

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I'd say let's see how AMC and OLTL do on OWN first. Maybe they'll build an audience over the summer and then maybe ABC could regain interest. Not that I'd be too excited about seeing them back on ABC, but it's something to consider.

Though I know the initial investment may make it completely not worth it (especially since the return on new soaps seems miniscule by all modern accounts), the possibility of a new half hour soap could be something for ABC to consider too. Air it after GH or between The Chew and GH (GH moving to 2:30?)

I doubt that's even a possibility, but I've been surprised before.

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I consider myself a progressive but even I think that there should be a conservative viewpoint on the View. It does no good just having one way of thinking on the show without a counterpoint. Who do they think they are, FOX News?

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Elizabeth is gone. She is prepping for a Fall debut on Fox and Friends, FoxNews network to replace Gretchen Carlson who is getting her own talk show.

Yes, the show GH is another story. Seems to be a little lost here and there.

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