Variety article on state of soaps...

[dragonflies]

And this is the reason why I see ABC never picking up Days if NBC cancels it.

Kenny yep, that's true, but I also agree, he does seem to give a damn moreso than NBC.

[skiman12082004]

For as much as I hate NBC daytime I have to give them kudos for making the deal with DirecTV to continue producing new episodes of Passions. The commitment is obviously there on NBC's part and this effort may revolutionize how soaps are treated in the future. If this venture works and Passions thrives we may all have to eat crow.

[sungrey]

As much as I love to loathe Brian Frons at what he's done to ABC, the man was pretty decent when he ran NBC Daytime. Days was fairly strong, AW got decent ratings, Santa Barbara was in its golden period, and he tried to push a new soap through to the viewers (the very entertaining Generations).

Over the years, I wonder what happened to that man.

[ATWTCarOn4Ever]

Well I dunno if I'd go so far as to call them idiots. How has SOAPnets ratings been since it was first created? Thats the big question IMO. IF they have been stellar and just recently been decline due to the removal of soaps then this Frons guy is an idiot. However if SOAPnet has had the same average/lackluster ratings that soaps airing in the Daytime are getting then I honestly can't get mad at him for tryinig to bring in more viewers. If Ryan's Hope isn't making millions tune in perhaps The OC or OTH will. I know I was obsessed with The OC Season 1. And I still like OTH although I really don't watch it as frequently anymore. Howeer if it came on SOAPnet I'd definitely tune in to see it.

Anyways just thats POV. As for NBC I thnk they're just cutting their losses and packing up shop. I can't blame them since Passions sorta weakened them in my opinion. Or maybe it was JerK. Whatever the reasons and regardless of who deserves the blame for NBC Daytime's current predicament, the bottom line is that NBC is a business and corporation. At the end of the day they really don't care about the small amount of viewers who are watching soaps these days if its not profitable to them. Its sad to say that but I think its the honest truth. No matter how good a show is, if it ain't pulling in the ratings then its going to be eliminated. I PRAY that Days doesn't fall victim to that but you can't say for sure what the future holds. However it doesn't make sense for NBC to continue the program if its not sustainable at the very least and at worse resulting in a loss.

P.S. Like I mentioned earlier if anyone has really stats on SOAPnets ratings I'd really appreciate that information.

[King]

Frons may have canceled SoapTalk, but whatever. He brought DAYS back to 7 pm, which made me uber happy!

[JER Soaps Fan]

I'm sorry but is anyone else not DEEPLY disturbed by having no comment from NBC in this article? It was a.) biased because of it and telling of how much Jeff Zucker (or NBC, in general) sucks ass--figuratively speaking, of course.

[bellcurve]

It wasn't the Trump Feud. Rosie pissed off Rupert Murdoch. That's one guy you don't want to f**k with. She publically roasted him to his face while Barbara Walters was in the audience.

FOX + FOXNEWS + FSN + FX + MyNetworkTV + Twentieth Television + NY Post + All Other FOX Entities = Rupert Murdoch.

[JER Soaps Fan]

Um, Rosie wasn't let go (to the first poster) -- she quit, according to everything I've heard -- so I don't get that comment.

Also, what is all that supposed to add up to, bell? I love Murdoch but I don't get it. That just hurts Rosie, not ABC or "The View," and besides, any pub is good pub..

[bellcurve]

Please don't think me rude when I say this, but why do people post on soap opera message boards to remind us "This is a business decision." "SOAPnet(NBC/ABC/CBS) is here to make money, not to make you feel good" ? WE as soap fans KNOW that these a$$hats make decisions based on the bottom line and their egos and NOT because it is ultimately what the fans want. We, as soap fans, know that we are constantly disrespected by the networks and forcefed garbage that we don't want to see or did not ask for.

It doesn't take CNBC or the BLOOMBERG channel to tell me that. These companies want to make money and they value the audience that has stayed with them very little.

It doesn't matter what the numbers are to me. I could really give a damn if RYAN'S HOPE and AW were drawing in viewers by the droves. It just goes to show that even on a soap opera channel, fans get no respect.

We KNOW Frons, Zucker, and even to an extent, Bloom, don't care about their fans. We just call b*ll$hit when they say they do.

[applcin]

My point was that, as much as some of us may not like the changes at SoapNet, it would be hard to fault Frons for considering the bottom line if that line indicates these recent additions bring in a bigger audience. Personally, as someone who was interested in SoapNet because of its classic shows and is only taping RH now, I have no other use for the channel. But I'm in the minority. I'm saying Frons can't really be called an idiot if the people who are lamenting the loss of the classic soaps will be watching the shows that replace them. It's a catch-22. The more people that watch reality shows, for instance, the more they put on. The more they put on, the more people complain about too many reality shows yet they still watch them. Money talks. Hard to make Frons out the big bad guy destroying soaps if the response he's seeing (viewers or lack of) encourages his tactics by continuing to watch his product.

[bellcurve]

After not getting the money she wanted. They probably lowballed her to get rid of her.

NewsCorp is undoubtedly a strong media entity. They control the news(both press and cable), FOX is pretty much gonna overtake NBC in the next five years, and lots of syndicated and network programming is co-produced by Twentieth Television, quite possibly some things that air on ABC(not too much since ABC got into bed with Touchtone(?) ). It just looks bad to have the star of a talk show lambasting such an important guy in the media, no matter what network the show is on.

Like it or not, NewsCorp is like the Wal-Mart of media.

[ATWTCarOn4Ever]

I'm not going to take it personally. I'm guessing that you're frustrated or just having a bad day. I'm a soap fan as well but I understand the bottom line. Thats all I was saying. And maybe YOU know that there is a bottom line when it comes to business but some other soap fans may not. As for soap fans being disrespected thats a matter of opinion. Maybe you don't like what you're being forced to watch but I don't think they stay up at night thinking of ways to piss you off or disrespect you.

I agree...these changes might bring in more viewers than Ryan's Hope or AW. Perhaps what should have happened is they brought in the new while retaining the old. That way ratings go up and people who are still infatuated with the classics can still tape or watch them. Personally I don't watch SOAPnet at all. No CBS soaps on there. And I usually tape Days. Other than that I have no use for the channel to be honest. I use to watch Knots Landing on it but then I kinda lost track of what was going on and forgot about it.

[bellcurve]

No, they don't stay up doing it. Most of today's soap writers are far too lazy to pull an all-nighter and actually think of good character driven material.

[Jess]

Rosie was not fired, and in fact is hot property right now. Variety had a story last week about the bidding war for her. I wonder if the poster who said Trump and Rosie both laughed about the feud all the way to the bank is correct. The people they are looking for to replace Rosie, aren't the Meridith clones. They are they Rosie clones.

Soapnet is still running primetime soaps at nighttime. I love AW, but don't blame Soapnet for cancelling it. When a show averages 0 ratings for 18-49, there really is no point in continuing with it. That was a business decision. I don't see that as backing off soapnet's commitment to the genre. I am very interested in seeing if Frons pulls off the GH spin off on Soapnet. If a nighttime soap on Soapnet attracts more interest to daytime, it's a good thing.

He is certainly much better than Jeff Zucker at NBC. I do think he is committed to daytime. Let's face it, no daytime no job for Fronsie. LOL.

Unfortunately Frons is too involved in the day-to-day business of the daily soaps on ABC. His judgement in what viewers of those soaps want is really really bad. And he is ageist. There is no question about that. But, I also think we let the EPs off the hook to easily by blaming every poor decision on Frons.

[soapfan770]

Brian Frons' comments are very legitimate proof that alcoholics do indeed have moments of clarity, perhaps from THAT moment they start healing.