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P&G shopping ATWT and GL as package deal?


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I really haven't had an emotional investment in any of the ABC soaps in at least six months (longer for GH). I tune in once in a while just to see if I'm missing anything... and more often than not, to be able to partake in storytelling discussions with people like David Evan Smith, Erik in Montreal, R Sinclair, etc. Just because I find their posts fascinating, and I like to know what they're talking about. But really (no offense, guys), that's not a reason to watch an hour of television. And I always just find myself shrugging after it's over and not tuning in for another couple of weeks.

I think a lot of people feel the same way. The ATWT thread is a fine example of that. I have no idea what's going on with the non-Internet-savvy audience, but I feel like the majority of the online community of fans are just tuning in here and there to be part of the discussion. And that's a demographic nobody is interested in.

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Yes, it has been. I consider an 18-month cancellation window to be a potentially REMARKABLE gift.

You've got a DEFINED ENDING, folks! You have a year and a half to straighten out your sh*t and march out a winner!

I suspect the gift of time will be squandered, but how beautiful it is that they could actually plan a fitting ending for this one-time monolith of a soap! ATWT was the star for years. Damn it, in my version of it, next month, Nancy Hughes will be told that she has terminal cancer, and a little more than a year to live. (or Kim, if you're worried Helen Wagner won't make it to the end).

So, Nancy will decide to get her house in order. Over time, all the friends and family she once loved or interacted with will come back to Oakdale to say "thank you" to her, and to say a proper goodbye.

And then, on the final episode (she'll still look hail and hearty--why not have a little fantasy here?), she'll get tucked in by Kim and Bob, and as the scene fades to black, she'll say "Good night, dear". Roll credits.

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Networks want out of unprofitable products. They give soaps like any other show a chance to turn things around, but eventually there is a bottom line and not even the outcry from canceling a soap can change that. I firmly believe that CBS and P&G gave GL every chance. I think that they came to the conclusion that GL could not bring up its demos to attract those ad dollars to make profit. P&G now only has ATWT which also has horrible demos so it gone next. P&G cannot want to stay in an unprofitable business even if they get to advertise during the show.

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Affiliates can do almost anything they want with network programming. Let's just get that clear. I believe the syndie season starts the week of GL's cancellation. If some station gets the bright idea to air their double block of "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader" or some lame talk show instead of airing GL's last week or $25,000 Pyramid at the expense of GL, they will do it.

But we don't know what's true and what's not. All I've heard is that GL is canceled.

CBS may want to keep ATWT for another year or two or even five, who knows. But ABC also wanted to keep "The Edge of Night" beyond December 1984, but PGP either a ) saw the writing on the wall in regards to the show's licensing fee getting reduced by ABC in the next round of negotiations and decided to pull out early or b ) saw EDGE as a money hole and wanted to use whatever funds they invested in their lone ABC property to funnel into their other daytime shows(keep in mind, PGP then had four shows left; two on NBC and two on CBS, during the height of the bigger the budget and location shoots galore).

We don't know if PGP has taken the deal. We haven't heard an official word from them regarding ATWT's renewal.

True. I agree Daytime Confidential is not always THE spot for Breaking News. But we should also never forget our history.

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The cynic in me simply can't take this move seriously. P&G couldn't be surprised that GL was near the end so why didn't they start making arrangements to move GL and ATWT to another media source before? It feels like a PR stunt with them going through the motions. However, I concede that I may be completely wrong.

Was the "roll the eyes" icon really necessary?

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I feel dumb posting that link because we all know that it is going to go nowhere, even if true. Next year at this time we are going to be discussing ATWT's cancellation..

I know this industry is dead in the water.

Hell, i don't even enjoy soaps anymore for the most part, and have stuck with OLTL for sentimental reasons. But some days its fun.

Its sad.

You're gone from here

Soon you will disappear

Fading into beautiful light

'cause everybody's changing

And I don't feel right.

-Keane

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I totally understand what you are saying, but at the same I'm just reading all of this and it all comes down to speculation (which there is nothing wrong with) but at the same time I feel like it's just a bunch of mass hysteria going on about a decision that hasn't even been made yet.

If I recall correctly, I think P&G wanted to shop AW to another network, and there was so such luck. I think it will be the same case for GL.

Everyone is talking about all of the chances GL was given. At the same time, ATWT (which I don't even watch anymore) isn't as bad in terms of getting the high volume of viewer complaints I recall GL getting for the past 10 years. With all of the chances CBS and P&G gave to GL, I don't think they would just call it quits on ATWT now because they canceled GL. They could of course prove me wrong.

Also, GL has had a lot more EP and HW changes than ATWT in the past 10 years. So it could be that ATWT and P&G are content with ATWT at this time and looking for slight improvement. Like others are posting, ATWT, GH, AMC, OLTL are so close to one another in the ratings. Depending on the week, it's really anyones game.

In regard to comments about P&G wanting out of the soap business, I don't know because I've been hearing that rumor for like the past 20 years. If they wanted out, they would have had out already. No one is holding them back. If they are concerned about consumers boycotting their products for canceling their favorite shows, people will eventually get over it and they know that.

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If they are so damn proud of their soaps and don't want to be absolved of them and if they don't want out of the soap opera business, why did they feel the need to change the name of their production company to TeleNext Media?

Were they too ashamed of the way the new Guiding Light looks to put their own company's name on it and instead, chose to change the name of their subsidiary company to something completely different, away from the brand name that the soaps have been known from for generations?

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But before that, they went by TeleVest Daytime, even though at the end of each show still had the PGP tag. I'm not sure why they changed the name, but TeleNext Media offers a list of different internship opportunities (paid one's) for people aspiring for a career in daytime television. To me, that seems like something a company ashamed of daytime wouldn't offer. Obviously they are paid by P&G dollars.

Maybe they changed the name because they were tired of those petty boycotting threats? Maybe not? Maybe they also changed it because they produced the People's Choice Awards. Your guess is as good as mine. How about someone call TeleNext Media and ask about the name change. They have a direct number on their website listed. I'm sure the person who answer's the phone would know about the company they work for.

This also made me think of this: PGP never sold their soaps like Edge or SFT when they were canceled by CBS. They looked for a new network for them and made attempts for them to continue. They took the soaps that they knew had a successful history and made a second attempt at keeping them alive. The one's that never had a chance, they apparently knew there was no chance for them.

(And by the way, CBS didn't have to cancel Edge. Considering they began airing reruns of All in the Family in the late afternoon, in a time period Edge could have aired on. And yes I know about the block P&G wanted, but did CBS make attempts to convince them to air Edge late in the day where they KNEW it did better?)

Did NBC or New World do that with Santa Barbara? NO! Did ABC do that with Ryan's Hope? NO! Did CBS do that with Capitol? NO! What about their fans? Did those networks show any sympathy for them? Obviously not. P&G at least made attempts with shows like Edge and SFT to try and give them another chance. Clearly it was too late, affiliates continued to drop them or not air them, but an attempt was made. I don't think P&G is ashamed of anything. If anything, I think CBS is ashamed of GL and has been for years.

When CBS wanted to buy out ATWT and GL, PGP didn't sell. Wouldn't it stand to reason that if they wanted to relinquish those holdings, they would sell at the first offers they got, considering they would be making more selling them then, than they would today. It just appears to me that PGP wants to keep their daytime, canceled or not, intact in their own library, separate from the other networks and production companies such as Sony and New World.

BTW, look at what CBS did to The Secret Storm when they bought it. They destroyed it!

I remember reading that ABC wanted to buy Edge from PGP, but they did not want to sell it. Whether that's true or not, that was in 1984, when ABC was the most successful daytime network. They brought in the most money, they had the highest rated shows. If PGP didn't want to sell Edge then to ABC to allow them to revamp it and most likely get their affiliates to air it at 4pm, that should tell you something that PGP wants to keep their shows together, they don't want them to lose their identity (even when their shows at times become unrecognizable). It could be like a sentimental thing. For example, SFT, Edge, GL, things may have gotten really bad, but no matter what, they are part of the P&G family and always will be. Selling them off could be like giving away one of your children. That is how they could feel about their soaps.

I never watched AW, but I don't place the entire blame on P&G for the show's cancellation. NBC is the guilty one. I don't blame P&G solely for the death of GL, CBS is equally responsible. CBS didn't care that their flagship station WCBS was airing the show at 10am since 1993. CBS didn't care that other O&O stations followed the same practice or that their Sacramento station dropped it completely years ago! Who is to blame them? CBS not P&G. Guiding Light faced a lot of preemption's at 10am. Do you think people are gonna stick around when their show is constantly interrupted? Goes to show, CBS didn't care!

Let me put it this way when it comes to CBS. If B&B didn't follow Y&R in most markets and wasn't a Bell soap, it wouldn't have lasted 5 years. If ATWT never aired at 1:30 unchallenged, it would have never been number 1 for nearly 2 decades. I recall Y&R premiered at noon originally, forcing LoL to move to 11:30. Y&R would have ran unchallenged as well at noon as most affiliates air local news. Without advantages such as that, I don't think they would have been as dominate as they were and still are. I guarantee you, CBS would have picked them apart both ATWT and Y&R. Due to smart scheduling, they got lucky.

In the 1980s and early to mid-90s, if AMC aired at the same time as Y&R at 12:30 EST, Y&R would have never made it to number 1 when it did and I believe that for a fact! AMC was it's main competition. CBS had advantages in their own right, that's why I don't think P&G is as ashamed as many believe and I also don't feel they are as guilty when it comes to their demise of their shows as opposed to the networks.

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