Could NBC legally cancel DAYS before March 2009?

[bellcurve]

Sony/Corday's best option would be getting station clearance for affiliates in syndication. They would have to drastically, and I mean, drastically slash the cast and budget and make it into the next generation of Hortons and Bradys. Which, they've done already, but the younger cast leaves a lot to be desired(esp. Shelly Henning). But if they can only legally shop the show in September, the only way the show can be offered up to affiliates is in a mid-season deal and even then, syndie shows that premiere mid-season usually never find their footing.

I wish NBC/Sony/Corday could come to terms and legally, for themselves and for the show's sake, just come to terms and allow them to shop the show to different outlets. I could see a lot of younger-skewing affiliates picking up the show. If DAYS improves in quality and cuts the cost of their cast, I think Sony could sell them into first-run syndication if they were given enough time. Now is usually the best time to sell a show into syndication, if not now then no later than January, when that big television conference is.

Corday's only option, as far as national exposure post-NBC is syndication.

I would think if Sony/Corday really wanted to save DAYS, they would try to get out of their NBC deal even before they are able to legally shop the show around. Unless they are selling to a cabler, there's no way they'll be able to successfully move in syndication if Corday is able to legally shop the show around in September 2008, especially if NBC gets rid of it before the Olympics. That leaves the no time to be shopped around.

Man, I'd love to see DAYS, in any form, go to syndication.

[Ponz]

As per TVG, Corday was legally allowed to shop DAYS from September 21 (07). However, I believe he had to give official 6 months notice to NBC to do so. That would be a gamble but the alternative- waiting another year while NBC continues to screw the show- seems even less appealing.

[mamasita]

Looking at the recent NBC daytime history (abrupt cancellation of AW, no second chance for SB, Direct TV adopting PSNS) I do not see too much hope for DAYS after 2009. Daytime is going thru a terrible time were Y&R and B&B are the only soaps doing well compared to the talk shows, judge crap, and game shows. I think GL is going to be cancelled sooner or later along with Days. PGP is going to keep ATWT to save face and because ratings are not that bad either for this soap.

Maybe we will see an hour long of B&B and another 1/2 hour Bell soap (another Y&R spin off) replacing GL on CBS.

[RuAsRuAnAu]

I think SONY does own the majority of Y&R. They killed Drucilla Winters after all, didn't they? Corday Productions involvement is so miniscule that they really do not have any say. Do you think LML/Griffith are awful on Y&R? It would be much worse if Ken Corday had much more of a say where Y&R is involved. Case in point: Look at DOOL 2000-present.

SB= Santa Barbara? If you mean Sunset Beach, daytime was actually better off without it.

Hour-long B&B...with Bradley Bell...as Head Writer? Do you think it is possible? Who will create this Y&R spin-off? Who will be the writers? Which characters will be involved? I do not think there will ever be a Y&R spin-off.

[DaytimeFan]

SONY does own the majority of Y&R. Case closed.

Also, Ken Corday doesn't actually do a hell of a lot at DAYS, he signs checks...he doesn't meddle in scriptwriting because he *knows* that he has absolutely no skill in that department. Corday's goal is to keep DAYS alive, it's his meal ticket after all. LML and her band of hacks (and anyone she hired be them casting, lighting or sets) make Corday look like Irna Phillips. Certainly, Corday allowed his HW's to destroy his show...but he didn't do it himself whereas LML and her crew has decimated Y&R in less than a year. A YEAR! It took Corday at least a decade to ruin DAYS and that's a conservative estimate.

B&B an hour long? I think CBS has craved that for years but Brad Bell has turned them down because he likes the pace of 30 minutes, he likes that he has complete control of the show, he likes his cast, 30 minutes works for him so I don't see him changing that. Kay Alden said the same thing.

Y&R has never had a spin off. B&B is a 'sister show' and yes there have been character crossovers but the shows are independent. And frankly, the only person who could create another Bell show is Lee Phillip Bell. But that isn't happening. She herself said this year at the Emmys that she and Bill worked as a team and that without him, there is no Bell-Phillip.

[bellcurve]

Who owns the rights to the characters at Y&R? We know Brad owns Amber of B&B, but who owns the other characters?

I'd think it would be relatively simple to do an hourlong spin-off Y&R or B&B. I'm surprised Lethal hasn't suggested it to the brass at CBS. It would be really easy for Y&R to do it since the show is owned by SONY and they will probably want or need another property when DAYS is axed.

[Sylph]

I think she didn't suggest it to the honchos because she hates Y&R. I think she's only writing it for the money and to satisfy her sick hunger for control.

[bellcurve]

Wow...I think you have taken the prize for "Who Hates Lethal the Most."

It still surprises me that Brad Bell didn't put up a fight to SONY to write for Y&R, although I do think his talents are better utilized for B&B.

[Soapsuds]

Bell can barely write for a half hour show. Can you imagine him writing an hour show? On B&B it is the shame [!@#$%^&*] story with him.

[Sylph]

Well, I wouldn't know about that, Joan Van Ark might hate her more. Still, the woman seriuosly has some bad, hateful vibe going, I couldn't find even a tiniest bit of enthusiasm (except for the fake one) about writing for Y&R. One of the reasons she made a make-over of the show is that she is trying to make it more her own, to somehow start to like it. She didn't even watch the show beofre Barbie asked her to do it...

I don't know... I'd really like to know what he thinks about Lynn's regime. Also, Bill Bell created B&B to be Brad's show one day. Did he ever mention that one day Brad might take over Y&R?

[bellcurve]

A lot better than Lethal...at least we'd be getting more Kay/Jill action.

[Khan]

Could NBC legally cancel DAYS before 2009? Yes. Will they? That doesn't seem likely. However, as shipperx pointed out, if NBCD believes it would be more profitable to run other programming in DAYS' place, they could elect to shut down the show and "eat" the production costs.

At this point, I think shopping DAYS to another network, even cable, would be an exercise in futility. The ratings are too low, the budget would have to be slashed too much to keep it going; the history of soaps switching networks (esp., in regards to soaps that have been on one network for 30 or more years) is abysmal, and the networks are trying to get out of the business, anyway. It would be wonderful if, for example, Sony lobbied CBS to acquire DAYS along w/ Y&R. However, if CBS felt threatened to take DAYS or else lose Y&R, they would probably allow both DAYS and Y&R disappear, and maybe persuade Bradley Bell to expand B&B to a full hour.

Furthermore, Sony, IMO, has done all it's going to do to save the show. If a three-time Emmy-winning head writer and the former producer of America's number-one soap cannot pull DAYS out of the ratings basement, Sony will reason, then what other choice do they have but to shut it down?

>> What if SONY tells CBS and NBC that both DAYS/Y&R come in a package deal! Whoever wants the #1 show has to take DAYS!! Ooohhhhh.......

CBS and NBC: "Ooohhhhh, no thanks," lol.

NBC has made it abundantly clear that their daytime lineup is "Today"'s for the asking. And as for CBS, even if they could dump the P&G soaps in order to make room for DAYS (as you have suggested, Toups), they'd probably be reluctant to trade one ratings nightmare (ATWT or GL, take your pick) for another. In fact, I'd go so far as to say, offering DAYS as part of a package deal w/ Y&R is the surest way of getting Y&R cancelled, lol.

>> Days moving somewhere else and being cut back... i think it could work.

Again, even if that were to come to pass, the result would be a show that would be DAYS in name only. Take it from someone who's witnessed what has happened to GL in the past 2-3 years: you don't want that to happen.

>> Adopting Days would probably mean canceling GL, and though at this point, that's probably inevitable, I think GL has better long term prospects on CBS.

Mark my words: if the Writers Guild goes on strike, and depending on how long the strike lasts, GL will not survive past next summer. (And neither will ATWT.)

[RuAsRuAnAu]

I think if the Writers Guild of America strike last longer than 100 days, Frons will be tempted to reduce AMC to 30 minutes, and possibly OLTL.

I agree than GL AND ATWT (packaged deal with PGP) won't survive a long strike. DOOL's fate was sealed the day NBC decided to cancel Another World.

[Khan]

>> I think if the Writers Guild of America strike last longer than 100 days, Frons will be tempted to reduce AMC to 30 minutes, and possibly OLTL.

I respectfully disagree. At this point, it's either remain on the air as you are (albeit, with a reduced budget), or be off the air entirely.

[DaysFanatic777]

Days is a classic soap with years and years of history attatched to it. I am truley a fanatic about this once epic serial. It's only a shaddow of its former self, but even if it had stayed true to it's roots, I think we'd be having this discussion.

Why? becuase there are more profitable alternatives to soaps. Talk shows and game shows cost less to create, and are appealing to viewers who live life on the go. A lot of people who work full time jobs and have careers (like myself) don't have time to invest in a soap like they use to. As much as I enjoyed last week (John's funeral) I had to Tivo it to watch it. Most weeks, I just try to catch it Friday on my lunch break. If the show were better would I watch more......I don't know. Probably, but not everyday. I just couldn't, not even if I wanted to. Soapnet's Sunday Nights in Salem has been a good way to keep tabs, when I'm not with my wife or Daughter at the park.

My wife and I are both Days fans, but we are busy. The new american culture has directed the trend in daytime.

Days will sadly probably slip away without much fuss in 2009. It's sad and depressing. I never wanted to see the day it happens. Maybe soapnet will air new episodes once or twice a week. Who knows....But it won't be the same when it leaves NBC, and we have our busy lives, as much as Corday or Reilly or Hogan......to balme.