GL and ATWT being discussed for LIFETIME?

[P.J.]

Exactly. CBS wants to produce whatever goes into GL's timeslot itself--whether that's a new talk show/game show/reality crap tv---owning it is what makes it profitable for them. They wouldn't have to produce as many shows in a season either. Talk and game shows allow for reruns, whereas soaps don't, lowering costs.

But it's hard to imagine any talk show really making an impact unless it has a "name" attached to it. And game shows are even more hit and miss.

ATWT may have some wiggle room. If GL lands someplace, in some form, at least it will still be. And focusing on one or two GOOD stories one hour per week, instead of churning out five hours every week filled with crap filler, might revitalize the show more than we realize.

[rangethatrover]

Nelson got his info from Michelle at DC. Michelle has GL "informants". She is obviously a GL insider as she was invited by GL to come down and watch the shooting at Disney World and she interviewed various actors days before the cancellation announcement.

[dragonflies]

From what I understand the Golden Girls has an older skewing audience and it did great ratings in the Lifetime repeats, but yeah don't see Lifetime picking these shows up.

[Soapsuds]

I wouldnt mind the Hallmark Channel like I mentioned earlier. Their shows are more for the older audience. I actually like the programming for the Hallmark Channel. I dont even watch Lifetime anymore.

[CSF]

I'm with you on this. It's a cool concept to think about it surviving on another network, but at the same time, we have to face reality. Nothing lasts forever and nothing will ever last as long as Guiding Light did.

It's cancelation received national attention. If it is picked up by another network and then canceled a year later, it won't get that attention. It will be a joke that goes: "Guiding Light has been canceled, again, for the second time around."

[RoseVioletDaisy]

DC does have a GL insider who is almost always spot-on. The sustained 1.8 rating by April mandate by CBS was well known by the cast and crew and the more realistic members knew exactly what was gonna happen when the expected rating's burst from GA's return and the Four Muskateers reunion never materialized.

I also thought that Lifetime or another cable outlet taking GL on was just empty talk and would never happen but I do think it's notable that Peapack NJ has been told by P&G that they aren't canceling their shooting contract with the town or vacating their Peapack HQ come September.

The fact that soaps have jumped networks in the past with little success doesn't mean anything now. Those incidents all happened a long time ago, back when network identity was huge, especially in daytime. That's no longer the case. People are married to their remotes now and are used to clicking around to see the shows they want. Nobody keeps the dial frozen on one station all day and night anymore like my grandma did.

Passions move to DirecTV was totally different. Passions core audience was smaller and younger and perhaps didn't have the money or loyalty factor to subscribe to a satellite service just to watch one show and yet the numbers they pulled in were still pretty good. Lifetime is a network with 98 million households who have access via cable and satellite. That simply can't be compared to an exclusive channel aired on a subscription service with 16 million customers. I already had DirecTV so I did peek in on occasion and I was impressed with the production values. Passions didn't look any cheaper or less put-together on DirecTV than it did on NBC. Perhaps the conventional soap opera's audience reach is too narrow for network TV nowadays but might find new life as a cable niche.

Who cares about USA Today covers? Seriously? GL has already gotten plenty of attention because of it's longevity, the format change, the CBS cancellation, etc. 9-12 months ago, heck maybe even 6 months ago, I was solidly in the "let it go, let it die with dignity" camp. But I do think the show has improved just enough to where I'll follow it if it continues, if only to see what happens to Phillip/Beth/Lizzie and how the Olivia/Natalia relationship evolves. However, unless GL cuts itself down to those two storylines/groups of characters, they do need to do some major work on the rest of the show because everything else is still a mess.

I understand the thinking that the RealGL is dead and should be allowed to die with dignity and be remembered for what she was but quite honestly, OldSchoolGL has been dead for a long time and she already will be remembered for all of her past greatness regardless of what happens next. Given the upheaval of the last fifteen years, a few more seasons on cable aren't gonna destroy her reputation beyond the damage that's already been done. What's currently airing under the bannerhead "Guiding Light" is very different from the show most of us grew up with and is nowhere near as good, that's a given, but the OldSchoolGL of the Bauers, Reardons, Chamberlins, Marlers, etc. is gone for good and should be mourned on September 18th, but that doesn't mean that the current incarnation is totally without merit so if NuGL goes on elsewhere, that's okay.

[Darlotto99]

turn the light's out and enjoy the memories of GL has given you over the years because if it ends up on another network like Lifetime say goodbye to stars P&G i don't think they would able to afford them so is their a point in keeping the lights on? as for the boycott of CBS well that will never work it's not as if CBS just canceled the Y&R after all

[alphanguy74]

I've got an idea.... what if it went to a cable network and morphed into soemthing different? A PRIME TIME soap that airs only one episode per week.... but that would have NO repeats? Hallmark could anchor a saturday or Sunday night lineup with such a thing.

[CSF]

Alphaguy74, I LOVE, just LOVE your signature!!!

[Y&RWorldTurner]

As I mentioned in another thread, I wonder if P&G will lease some GL re-runs to Hulu, like they're currently doing with AW. They picked up AW from somewhere in 1991, I'd love it if the started GL from that same time.