Variety article on state of soaps...

[Wendy]

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111796440...ery=Brian+Frons

Interesting article and points of view from both Barbara Bloom [CBS Daytime President] and Brian Frons [ABC Daytime President].

Though Frons did get a jab in at Jeff Zucker. [NBC Daytime President]

[ZaraB]

Okay, the laughfest that was Rosie's offscreen diatribes with Donald Trump and then Rupert Murdoch, insulting Asians, fellow talk show hosts (Kelly Ripa), and Catholics, is speaking intelligently to women? Does the man have a clue?

[RionPassions]

Rosie's outspoken but loveable. Trump is the enemy.

[Cheap21]

Too bad he doesnt feel the same way about the f-ed up dialogue on his soaps

[Jess]

Frons suffers badly from foot-in-mouth, and he is ageist. However, I do think he goes to bat for daytime and is truthfully a lot better egg in that regard than NBC. Every year he commits resources to the fall preview show, he goes all out on daytime emmys and he commits resources to emmy announcements.

Rosie might have been controversial but she did bring in the viewers. Right now she is a hot commodity and it is because of her tenure on The View.

I blame him for what is wrong with ABCD, but I'll give him his due. He is a consistent voice that there is a place for daytime and that networks should not back down from their commitment to daytime. I also don't think the current EPs of OLTL and AMC are without sin as far as the hell those shows have become.

[King]

Whatever. Brian Frons is right. Jeff Zucker is an a$$h*le! Frons is not saying anything is horribly untrue.

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

I am afraid I agree with Frons. Jeff Zucker has no idea what the hell he is doing.

[billyjill]

ITA. I disagree artistically with Frons but you can tell he does *value* soaps to an extent, even if he wants to change so much about them. NBC just totally disrespects the genre entirely.

[bellcurve]

I can't say that I don't think Frons has good ideas. But I do think that his worst outweighs his best.

Putting Frons in charge of SOAPnet and Buena Vista was the biggest mistake they could have made. The man has very little respect for viewer loyalty and, instead, wants to make people like what he likes often with rather dastardly results.

He is turning SOAPnet into a mini-Lifetime with an influx of primetime drama reruns and reality shows that have nothing to do with soaps. It just makes me wonder if that means he really cares about soaps too, if FASHIONISTA DIARIES is more important to SOAPnet's audience instead of RYAN'S HOPE.

It's gonna get worse before it gets better. Soaps are gonna need a revolution in order to get people watching again. SOAPnet is a start, but its not nearly enough, because the writing isn't there on any of the five shows featured. MyNetworkTV tried to do it, but NewsCorp had people in charge that had no clue how to advertise to soap audiences.

It's just going to take one show to put soaps back on the map...it may be either something already in daytime(creating the same type of buzz Reilly did with DAYS in the mid-90's) or it may be something like a telenovela or early-evening soap. It's gonna take creativity and talented writers/producers/actors to do it.

[PhoenixRising05]

I am glad NBC got called out on their BS and total disrespect of the genre.

Frons is horrible but he is right on about that.

[KLN]

Does anyone besides me think it's kind of ironic that Brian Frons is going on and on about how great soaps are and how viable they are -- while, at the same time, he's doing everything in his power to minimalize their exposure on SOAPnet?

[billyjill]

Kenny - yes.

At the same time, he still gives more of a damn than anyone at NBC.

[ZaraB]

Trump has made his millions in perhaps the oldest trick in the book: create the illusion/reputation of wealth, then sell it to others hoping for the same result. His view on PR is most likely 'Don't care what you print....just spell the name right.' I suspect he and Rosie laughed there way through that 'media war'. I confess I'm not entirely positive BW wasn't in on it as well.

I'm wondering what did go too far (why Rosie was let go). There is a thing as being too outspoken.

[applcin]

I hate what Frons has done and is doing to SoapNet but if viewers respond by not watching the classic soaps and by watching the reality fashion show and other nonsense, then he's not the idiot, we are.

[ANDREA LOATHES REILLY]

If Frons' soaps were not in complete shambles, I'd probably support what he has to say. But because he is an !@#$%^&*] who could care less about the audience, Frons is in no position to criticize anyone because his OVERcommittment to ABC has led to the impending annihilation of the network.

Perhaps NBC is realizing that there are no more stories to be told. Look at the ratings for all shows. Y&R has not hit a 5.0 in over 3 years. GL has been on the air for 70 years, and you seriously have to ask yourself, what story has this show not told? If anything, they are repeating what was done in the past. Soaps are dying, and why should NBC not cut their losses? After finally getting rid of that madman Reilly, NBC took a look at the current state of soaps, and concluded that there is more money to be had w/o soaps. They ARE NOT WHAT THEY USED TO BE.

If Frons really gave a sh!t about "his" soaps, he would back the f#ck off and allow the writers to write. This way, when the shows eventually go off the air, they will have nice send offs. All Frons does is pick a favorite from each show and have EVERY other character prop that person.

Frons is right about Zucker and NBC? Please! Zucker has said he does not give a rat's ass about the audience. But isn't this what Frons does daily? If you are older, black and not carrying a large penis (the total opposite of Frons'), there is no room for you on his network (and his audience) anyway.

I will never agree with Frons on anything. So he can take his insults and go screw himself because he is no better!

ANDREA