Gilmore Girls DOES have a bit of soapiness to it, but ABC Family's had it for years.

I am interested in "Julia's Tango" and "Santa Monica." SoapNet's attempt at actual soap?

Other than the first season of Night Shift, has any original SoapNet show ever been successful?

Why do they call the stuff they import from Canada "Original Programming"?

Interesting---I wonder if that means ABC Family loses Gilmore Girls.

And I'll admit it, I watch the Saturday Mornings on SoapNet.

Me too. I never saw One Tree Hill or the OC before. And I find myself (shockingly, at my age and gender) especially liking OTH.

If they wanted to stay on and MAKE money, then yes it would of. People need to understand the concept that soaps don't bring in money anymore which is why SoapNet has turned their attention to other avenues. They still show plenty of soap opera stuff just not daytime but One Tree Hill, 90210 and The OC are STILL soaps they are just primetime soaps. Now those stupid movies they show, not so much.

Bingo. The programming on Soapnet changed NOT out of "malfeasance", but out a need to make money on the right demos.

Everything sounds BLAH to me...

Ah, original scripted SERIAL programming on any network these days is a miracle. I hope these are great. I hope one of these is a "game changer", like Mad Men or Breaking Bad was for AMC. AMC, by the way, is one of many networks (like TVLand) that hand to break out of the old-people-nostalgia market TO SURVIVE. Nostalgia makes some of us feel good, but it does not pay the bills.

Ugh. I get hostile just flipping past TVLand while channel surfing. In the daytime, it's fine. I was watching "Good Times" this morning and laughing my ass off. But primetime? No thank you. "High School Reunion" is ridiculous, "She's Got the Look" is ridiculous, and this one they have coming up with the older woman dating younger men is ridiculous too. Has absolutely nothing to do with classic television at all, and neither do the movies they continually show. I can respect them for no longer using the "classic TV" slogan, however. "TVLand" can be interpreted to have several different meaning, but "SOAPnet" is pretty straightforward: it's a network for SOAPS.

The cable net that I love the most right now is Hallmark Channel. Their core audience is well over 55, they know it, and they embrace it. "The Golden Girls" was a brilliant pick-up for them.

There's no word on what's going to happen to the Saturday night Y&R marathon. If they mess that up, I'm gonna be one real pissed off viewer. I usually watch that marathon on Saturday nights and go out afterwards!

Hallmark is bucking the trend. As a niche "old person's channel" (actually, "old woman's channel"), I wonder if the $$ will add up.

Reading between the lines, I'm guessing Y&R Saturday Night marathons are DEAD.

from SoapNet's website

SOAPnet will start airing all seven season of "Gilmore Girls" starting Saturday, April 4th. You can rely on us for your Lorelei lovelife fix every Saturday at 9 and 10pm, and every Sunday at 6 and 7pm

Interesting--wonder where there Y&R block will go?

Dead, don't you think? Frons is saying the marathons do not perform.

Other than the first season of Night Shift, has any original SoapNet show ever been successful?

Hallmark is bucking the trend. As a niche "old person's channel" (actually, "old woman's channel"), I wonder if the $$ will add up.

They've been in their current style for several years, and they're constantly pushing out original movies (with somewhat "big" names attached to most of them), so I don't think they're hurting for money. They are indeed Hallmark Channel, so I'm sure they're well taken care of. They tried to bring in some different type of programming with "Cheers" and "I Love Lucy" this year, but they both failed miserably and were buried in late night slots after maybe a week or two each. Golden Girls, on the other hand, has been a big hit, and it's actually taken over some of Cheers and Lucy's airings. GG fits perfectly on Hallmark...really, really, really, really, really well. If Lifetime hadn't held on to it so long, I'm sure they would have picked it up years ago. I don't know WTF they were thinking "Cheers." That fits on Hallmark as much as "Falcon Crest" would fit on MTV.

It continually sickens me how cable TV has mutated into something horrible and worthless. I can't name even one basic cable network that hasn't sold out.

It continually sickens me how cable TV has mutated into something horrible and worthless. I can't name even one basic cable network that hasn't sold out.

Yeah, but that's not CABLE'S fault. The many networks have become what viewers want to see -- at least in terms of trackable eyeballs in niche demographics.

Cable has actually BROKEN the tyranny of the 18-49 woman. Cable is the one place where networks can program for very specific kinds of audiences (e.g., ESPN, BET, GSN, VS, etc.). What you see, then, is a reflection of what these different niches are most likely to tune into.

The trick, I think, is to find the niche channel that pleases YOU. For some of us, there aren't so many of those out there.

Why do they call the stuff they import from Canada "Original Programming"?

A lot of networks do this when they air the shows in America.

The only example i can think of off the top of my head is The-N/teeNICK with shows like Degrassi and Instant Star. But i know there are more.

Cable has actually BROKEN the tyranny of the 18-49 woman. Cable is the one place where networks can program for very specific kinds of audiences (e.g., ESPN, BET, GSN, VS, etc.). What you see, then, is a reflection of what these different niches are most likely to tune into.

Very few cable networks have any diversity anymore. And the cable channels aren't about uplifting the niche market they are targeting. I think it's funny that you mention that BET is a network for a specific kind of audience. Because it is...but it's not the kind of audience I would want to meet. Nor is it a network someone should be proud to say they watch, because it "reflects" them. God, if BET reflects the black community, then God help my people.

If you would have said TVOne, maybe I could have gotten on that bandwagon. But very little on cable is niche. It's all about the demos, the money, and selling out.

Edited March 13, 200916 yr by bellcurve

If you would have said TVOne, maybe I could have gotten on that bandwagon. But very little on cable is niche. It's all about the demos, the money, and selling out.

I just discovered TVOne...not so bad.

What do you (and koos) mean by "selling out"?

A lot of networks do this when they air the shows in America.

The only example i can think of off the top of my head is The-N/teeNICK with shows like Degrassi and Instant Star. But i know there are more.

That makes sense I guess.

If you would have said TVOne, maybe I could have gotten on that bandwagon. But very little on cable is niche. It's all about the demos, the money, and selling out.

I love it that TVOne shows old episodes of Divorce Court with Judge Mablean.....

Very few cable networks have any diversity anymore. And the cable channels aren't about uplifting the niche market they are targeting. I think it's funny that you mention that BET is a network for a specific kind of audience. Because it is...but it's not the kind of audience I would want to meet. Nor is it a network someone should be proud to say they watch, because it "reflects" them. God, if BET reflects the black community, then God help my people.

If you would have said TVOne, maybe I could have gotten on that bandwagon. But very little on cable is niche. It's all about the demos, the money, and selling out.

Anytime a cable net claims to be the "network for...*insert race, gender, age*" I cringe. There will always be people in the group who don't watch the channel and there will be people who aren't in the group that do. We never acknowledged that Lifetime was "television for women" in our house. We all watched it if they had a good movie or show on.

TVOne is beyond awesome! Everything's uncut and in the highest possible quality, visual-wise. The Jeffersons and Sanford & Son look brand new on there.

They make us pay extra for TVOne (and TCM, and G4, and SoapNet...) here in NYC and I can't have that. It kills me. I miss Roc. And TCM.

What do you (and koos) mean by "selling out"?

I mean, a network that is very genre specific intentionally switching gears to appeal to a wider audience.

i.e.

-MTV, which once only played music videos, is now a wasteland for reality television.

-VH1 Classic, which used to show an eclectic range of classic music videos from 60's, 70's, 80's and early 90's is now a Classic Rock station and VH1 reality show rerun station.

-GSN went to an almost all-poker and casino game format, until it failed miserably.

-TVLand, which used to be a network devoted to classic television shows, is now a dumping ground for original reality shows and at one time, Baywatch.

-AMC, which used to feature classic movies, all day, now will sometimes feature more recent movies and even has an original television show on it's schedule(a critically acclaimed show, yes, but a television show nonetheless).

-SOAPnet, which used to be geared towards soaps and soapy content, now focuses its attention on reality and programming that isn't soapy(i.e. Being Erica, Fashionista Diaries, Belles, etc.).

I hope that answered your question.

They make us pay extra for TVOne (and TCM, and G4, and SoapNet...) here in NYC and I can't have that. It kills me. I miss Roc. And TCM.

I know we've veered off-topic, but I just want to say that I saw an episode of Roc posted on YouTube(the 1992 Election Episode). Despite the actors minor flubs of the lines(which is understandable, considering each weekly show in Season 2 was live), Roc is probably one of the greatest, underrated sitcoms ever. I know it's hard to say that based on watching only one episode, but I just thought the show was terrific. I'll have to watch more at some point. That show and Herman's Head.

-TVLand, which used to be a network devoted to classic television shows, is now a dumping ground for original reality shows and at one time, Baywatch.

Baywatch was just for a weekend marathon a couple of years ago, and IMO, that wasn't too much of a bad thing. The show's coming up on its 20th anniversary, so I think it has a place on some rerun-based channel (WGN, perhaps? Pleeeease? I miss my Mitch/CJ/Matt/Stephanie/Summerho), but definitely not TVLand. But then again, TVLand does occasional marathons of "CSI" and its spin-offs now, and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is one of their regular shows. Ugh.