P&G shopping ATWT and GL as package deal?

[DRW50]

Wheeler, even with her numerous flaws, probably kept GL on 3-4 years than it may have been on otherwise, and they did give the money to bring GA back when he agreed to come back.

ATWT they do seem much more apathetic about.

[DaytimeFan]

Never.

[Adam]

I know people don't want to lose their show, but this is just grasping at very thin straws.

[alphanguy74]

I don't understand why you are are THIS pessimistic. Yes, I think the Genre is going down the tubes for the most part, but I don't think we'll be left with NOTHING, the popularity of soapnet can attest to that. Even in the darkest hour of game shows, we still had TPIR, Wheel Of Fortune, and Jeopardy! I honestly think it will eventually dwindle to 2 or 3 soaps at the most... perhaps Y&R, B&B, and OLTL or GH (God Forbid). I just don't subscribe to this doomsday mentality that every single soap on the air is going to go.

[CSF]

Okay, so I'm a little lost here. Has any published report been released from CBS that As the World Turns has been canceled? Until that has happened, ATWT is here to stay.

I also do not believe for one second that CBS renewed ATWT for one more year and then that's it, it's done. That would never happen because CBS would be getting screwed over paying a licensing fee while their affiliates would drop ATWT, if they know it will be canceled in 2010. It's pointless to do something like that. Every CBS station would drop ATWT and GL tomorrow like flies if CBS announced ATWT is gone 2010 and that's a done deal.

Affiliates and O&O stations won't drop GL at this point because the new season of programming won't begin until September 2009, which is when GL ends. That's a smart move on CBS's part when they announced the shows end date.

I feel like I'm repeating myself a little here, but I think we are jumping way ahead without any credibility to back this up. One should always consider the source before jumping to conclusions.

Also, I don't think CBS would announce ATWT is done on the day of it's 53rd year in production.

[JackPeyton]

Oxygen, Lifetime, Hallmark, Fox, The CW - all better places than SOAPnet. Even TVLand.

Oprah is getting a new station soon too, they should look into that.

[jfung79]

ATWT fans, if you wait until an official "announcement" from CBS, it will be far far too late. Learn from the GL experience and stop putting so much faith in CBS!

I'm glad P&G is being proactive at exploring other avenues for their properties, whether that be another network or another medium altogether, and I think they can and will succeed. I hope they will let us know what fans can do to help put the pressure on. They are really trying to save their shows!

P&G doesn't need to make up some story for a "good PR way" out of the soap business, LOL. Good grief, if they wanted out, they'd have let the shows be canceled years ago.

Oh yeah, also, I do believe the rumors about Frons being interested ... ABC talked about buying AW back in the day when it was canceled, and went into talks with P&G. I read R Scott Collishaw writing about how he was surprised to learn the ABC rumors were true back then.

That was a previous regime at ABC, true. Now Brian Frons is in charge ... But I'd rather take a Frons soap over no soap.

[DRW50]

I do have a hard time believing they have any plans to keep ATWT, which really isn't in that much better shape than GL, if they're willing to drop GL. I think they're just biding their time, like NBC did with AW and SuBe.

[brimike]

I never ever thought I'd say this, but I'm starting to think I don't agree with that statement. And it depresses the hell out of me.

[Ann_SS]

Unless something changes radically, ATWT is likely gone after next year. I can't see how it stays on the air with those horrible demos.

[Sylph]

But hasn't it been cancelled already?

[brimike]

I don't even think something radical could save it. GL got Grant back, killed Grady AND the good buzz of Otalia. And they got canceled. I think ATWT would have to somehow go from a 0.8 to overtaking Y&R/Days as #1 in the demos to save it at this point. And NOBODY thinks that's going to happen - you could get Larry Bryggman, Martha Byrne, Scott Bryce and Eileen Fulton in front-burner story... written by Claire Labine and Nancy Curlee... and the show will still be struggling with getting past a 1.0 in the demo at this point.

[JackPeyton]

I agree.

I really do wonder if people who say they would rather have this soap whatever way they can than no soap means it. I mean, look how many tuned out of GL because of its production model. If anywhere else picks it up its bound to come with another severaly slashed budget. more cast cuts, prob newer smaller studio. who knows what else. sometimes no soap is better than a awful soap.

No. It has not.

And no, i dont buy that argument that CBS didnt just ax it too because it did wanna piss off all the fans of two soaps. That mentality that networks and companies want soaps dead because we disagree with them not changing things is just not true. Because if it were they would ax them. That simple. Its not hard to replace a soap with a much cheaper show even just to hold the spot on the affiliates until they get something good there. And yall are correct ratings for those shows are lower, however they are so much cheaper to produce. If CBS wanted ATWT dead, it would be dead. I firmly believe that they are giving them this year to get it together. They gave GL more chances than they should have to be honest. GL failed.

[Sylph]

They want them dead because we disagree with them? Where did you hear that one, Jack! I've never heard anything even close to this thesis.

Howeve, I did repeatedly hear rubbish like "P&G wants out of soap business" and so on. If they did, just like you point out, ATWT and GL would be loooong gone. And here they are; not only that, but apparently being shopped around.

[Rakesh]

Agreed 100%.