All: Which soaps will be around in 5 years?

[Southofnowhere]

Which soaps do you think will be around in 5 years? IMO the only soaps that will be around in 5 years are Y&R,B&B and GH. Days may be picked up by another network but it won't be on NBC in 5 years!

[bok]

In 5 years, GUIDING LIGHT and All my children will be cancelled !

[AntiNWO]

By 2010, there will only be 3 American daytime dramas on TV: Y&R, GH & undeservedly so, B&B. This is good news for true daytime fans. If I had it my way, the saved dramas would be Y&R, GH & OLTL. The rest would be cancelled. Nice knowing ya, AMC & ATWT! At least the dramas won't be replaced by telenovas; their timeslots will be given to the affiliates or the nets will air their primetime shows (especially serials like Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy & Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip) in daytime. I hate telenovas & MyNetworkTV. Such trash!

I'd like to see CBS air Y&R on multiple channels at various times of the day. Y&R on CBS can air M-F at 4am, 9am & 12:30pm. Y&R can air on The CW M-F at 5pm. Y&R can air M-F on SOAPnet at 6pm & 11pm. Flood the airwaves with Y&R, y'all!

[psychofan]

Threads like this always depress me. In my fantasy world, all the soaps will still be around. Let me live in my little bubble!!! lol

[alwaysAMC]

WORD!

[Jess]

I think all soaps are heading for Cable. In five years, they will all be there.

[Mason]

SERIOUSLY!

Are all these threads that only spread gloom and doom really necessary?

Ah, well, I'll just retreat back to my "ignorance is bliss" dormancy...

[SteveFrame]

I agree with those that the gloom & doom talk and constant threads made about it are way too much. It seems like every other day someone makes a thread lately about which show is next. Add to that some certain poster constantly calling for the cancellation of every show in every thread he posts in.

Enough already.

I think 5 years is way too early to predict the end of soaps. I believe there will be more than 3 still around in 5 years, and my wish is all 8 are still around. I know that Days won't be on NBC. I truly believe it will have to move, but I see the others still there - esp. with GL's rise this last week in viewers. I think CBS will continue to have faith in the show.

[DrewH]

Hey, it's a topic someone wants to discuss. I think we should discuss it.

By 2012 (5 years from now), I expect Y&R, GH and B&B to be on the air for sure. In my own little world, I want to believe that CBS will do the right thing and take DAYS from NBC, with hopes of knowing their daytime line up would cream the other two networks with a Y&R, B&B and DAYS line-up.

I don't see GL or ATWT lasting through their next contract negotiations, maybe ATWT, but probably not. With OLTL and AMC's downgrade in ratings, I don't know if ABCD will cancel them. They have to know their shows suck, yet they continue to hand out the same garbage. I don't think they care anymore, so maybe those two will be on as well.

[bellcurve]

And you would know from trash, right?

[AntiNWO]

THERE IS NO NEED TO BE RUDE & SALTY! NO REASON AT ALL! MyNetworkTV is a collosal failure in the ratings. MNT can barely garner 1 million viewers per hour.

BACK TO THE TOPIC OF Southofnowhere's THREAD: If it was solely based on quality & potential, then only Y&R, GH & OLTL would be around 5 yrs from now.

[SteveFrame]

Sorry Drew but unless HOgan starts doing better than the stuff he has poured out the last 2 weeks, CBS is not going to be interested in Days. I'm sorry but the stuff that Hogan has putting out there the last 2 weeks is no better than anything that is showing on AMC, OLTL, ATWT or GL (esp. GL). And from the spoilers I don't see things getting better any time soon.

People keep counting out GL, but the ratings have been consistent for 2 years. They are a show that can make it - proven by the big gain in viewers this last week. And they are doing it on a small budget too. I am not saying that CBS won't cancel it, but when they take and look at other shows and compare GL to them - they will be stupid to do so. GL has a consistent viewership and is produced on a very slim budget.

After the last few weeks, I just don't see it going anywhere any time soon. CBS and P&G would not be putting the money out there that they have recently if they were just going to cancel it the next time it comes around. They still promote it very well.

GL has so much going for it, has a consistent viewership, consistent and very stable ratings, a small budget - and they do it all without even the publicity that shows like Days and GH get from the soap magazines.

Plus they don't even air on every affiliate in the States, and in many places they air in the very early morning.

[heatherwebber]

GH is a horror show. It's totally lacked quality for several years.

I do think the daytime soaps will start to go one by one or in groups.

I think the networks are tired of them.

The ratings are falling.

I also think the affiliates have been obsessed with news for years now. Many of them if not most call themselves "News Channel" whatever.

But despite the troubles with prime-time serial format shows, or I should say SOME of the newer attempts, I suspect soaps may carry on in prime-time in some form or another.

I suspect talk shows, reality junk, news & maybe some Entertainment Tonight knockoffs along with those judge shows & whatever else they can come up with will replace soaps (maybe more cooking shows and other such things.) They might even test more reruns of older prime-time shows.

There's so many other factors. The fact they're sticking to the one-hour bloated daily format, the terrible writing- especially on ABC, the obsession with stunts instead of putting out quality stories about interesting characters, the youth & teen obsession, and more, are all killing the soaps every bit as much as the continued low ratings since most of these things are directly responsible for long-time fans tuning out and turning off.

And I must say I think the format is way too expensive and unable to bring in enough viewers for the shows to move to cable or the internet or anywhere else. I just don't see it happening. Just possibly an occasional prime-time show like a Desperate Housewives.

I find it more likely that SoapNet will switch to older shows or completely stop running soaps and become a totally different format.

[bellcurve]

Due to no fault of the QUALITY of the shows. Especially where WICKED WICKED GAMES and WATCH OVER ME are concerned. WOM beats any action sequences or hostage situations in daytime, as far as I'm concerned. Not to mention these two shows look better than ANYTHING in daytime right now, and that is from an aesthetic standpoint.

I won't be surprised if we start seeing reality trash like LAGUNA BEACH, THE HILLS, etc. on SOAPnet instead of true soap opera classics like SANTA BARBARA. Because, of course, they need to bring in the audience that doesn't give a crap about soaps.

[SteveFrame]

Another thing about the CBS shows was brought up in another thread. CBS cares about all ages of viewers as they do try to write for teens but they don't turn their shows over to them. They have catered to older viewers and tried to hold on to them which IMO has been smart.

As pointed out in another thread - older viewers are more consistent. I think that is seen in GL's rating esp. even though GL does have a lot of younger viewers too. The very young viewers that ABC seems to be courting now and NBC have courted for years are very fickle. They bounce around all the time. Believe me I have 3 teenagers in my home - well 1 just turned 20. I watch turn on and off to shows very quickly all the time. Right now my youngest daughter who never could stand AMC is in love with the show. She has never bought a soap mag in her life but now buys every one she can get her hands on that has anything to do with AMC.

Days was always her show, but now she refuses to watch - mostly because of the loss of Jason Cook. She don't care if Brandon Beemer can act - she misses Jason - and she was one of the first ones that I know of who couldn't wait to get rid of Kirsten Storms.

Younger viewers do tune out quicker than older viewers. CBS has a nice lineup right now. I see them holding on to their 4 shows longer than some do. They all 4 have pretty stable ratings, and I just don't see them being so quick to cancel a proven lineup for a maybe. I think the only real way that ATWT & GL will go anytime soon is if P&G suddenly wanted both of them gone, and with the way P&G have promoted them in the last year, I just don't see it happening.

I know that at least one poster on here says that old viewers just watch out of habit. I disagree with that statement - it is not out of habit but more out of loyalty. Older viewers are not as quick to give up on a show as younger viewers. Plus for many the characters have been a part of their lives a lot longer and it is harder for them to walk away from family members - until TPTB say you don't matter anymore and completely do something to cause them to lose that trust.