July 27-31, 2009

[Dale]

Hi, Max! I guess we will all have to wait to see how it comes out in the wash, but I believe that ABC will keep or cancel whatever show makes the most financial sense to do so! After all, it is a business, and $$$ is the bottom line. Whatever the case may be, it's all very sad and disheartening.

[DRW50]

I agree with you. In the past, these shows had more brand name appeal than OLTL. I am not sure how true that is now. Susan Lucci is still famous, but that's for herself as much as for AMC these days. Her fame has done nothing to stop a drastic ratings slide, to the point where AMC is now lower rated than a soap where people think the signature heroine was their first grade teacher.

Luke and Laura are dead and buried. The only time they are mentioned now is if the show rewrites their history or tells us that Luke never loved Laura the way he loves Tracy.

If we're talking about current soap, I see nothing on AMC or GH which makes them more of a successful brand than OLTL.

[Scotty]

Several former OLTL stars have gone on to become pretty big celebs....Laurence Fishbourne, Tom Berenger, Tommy Lee Jones, Judith Light, Ryan Phillipe, Marcia Cross, and Nathan Fillion are just a few of the many examples of that.

Desperate Housewives has two OLTL alums -- Marcia Cross and Tuc Watkins

Castle stars Nathan Fillion (ex-Joey)

Heros stars Hayden Panettiere (ex-Sarah)

In the past....Joe Lando was on Doctor Quinn, and of course Judith Light starred on Who's the Boss? Even Hillary B. Smith co-starred with Gene Wilder on the short-lived '90s sitcom "Something Wilder."

In addition, several big name guest stars have appeared on the show over the years, including Sammy Davis Jr..

[Scotty]

I agree. Susan Lucci's fame to many is likely becuase they heard about her dry streak for nearly two decades at the Daytime Emmys, her appearances outside of AMC, and her infomericals and appearances on QVC selling beauty products. I think people know her more for those reasons, then because of her work on AMC.

Luke and Laura's wedding may have been one of GH's finest moments, but that was nearly 20 years ago. Most younger soap fans likely have no idea of the history of the couple.

AMC and GH may have strong histories, but it is doing little to help them now. True all soaps are experiencing ratings declines, but if either soap were still such 'name brands' why are they near the bottom of the ratings week after week, and OLTL often tied or above them?

ABC does a lot of stupid things and, who knows, they may indeed cancel OLTL first, but I think that it ultimately comes down to money. The less money a show costs to produce the safer it is, the more money it costs, the more it is in danger. That's why I don't exactly buy the fact that ABC will get rid of OLTL first. Plus, why move them into a bigger studio and upgrade the cameras and technical equipment (which cost GH $3 million) to broadcast the soap in HD early next year, if they were planning on cancelling it only a few months later? That part doesn't make sense to me.

[Angela]

This is the average viewers per month for the ABC Soaps (thanks to the daily numbers). Not really all that relevant but we do the episode counts here, so I thought it would be interesting to use some of that element in the ratings somehow:

January

GH: 2,864,000

AMC: 2,686,000

OLTL 2,598,000

February

GH: 2,771,000 (-93,000)

AMC: 2,609,000 (-77,000)

OLTL: 2,514,000 (-84,000)

March

GH: 2,723,000 (-48,000)

AMC: 2,717,000 (+108,000)

OLTL: 2,707,000 (+193,000)

April

GH: 2,530,000 (-193,000)

AMC: 2,526,000 (-191,000)

OLTL: 2,439,000 (-268,000)

May

GH: 2,497,000 (-33,000)

AMC: 2,475,000 (-51,000)

OLTL: 2,455,000 (+24,000)

June

OLTL: 2,532,000 (+77,000)

GH: 2,484,000 (-13,000)

AMC: 2,440,000 (-35,000)

July

GH: 2,517,000 (+33,000)

OLTL: 2,516,000 (-16,000)

AMC: 2,434,000 (-6,000)

[Soapsuds]

I think that's why AMC was moved to L.A. They want to make it cheaper to produce and then let the axe fall on OLTL. It's obvious ABC is trying to save AMC anyway they can before they cancel it.

[marceline]

Yes, they're famous but not because of OLTL. It just happened to be the job they had at the time. (Or do you want to say that Sammy Davis Jr.'s claim to fame was the fact he appeared on OLTL?) If you weren't already a fan of the show would you know or care that any of those people were on the show? Susan Lucci is famous because of AMC, conversely GH is famous because of Luke and Laura. I'm not saying any of this matters in the big scheme of things.

As I said in another thread, you need look no further than Dancing With the Stars to see who and what ABC values. Both AMC and GH have sent castmembers to DWTS, but OLTL hasn't. And, as another poster noted, when the network sent people to Kenya they sent stars from AMC and GH.

Believe it or not I'm not hating on OLTL. For the record, I don't think AMC or GH are more deserving of survival than OLTL. I think they all suck equally. As long as Frons is in charge, they're all dead as far as I'm concerned. I'm just pointing out what I think are clear sign about the next to go.

[DAYS]

DAYS famous because of Doug and Julie

[Scotty]

Then what about Judith Light? The role of Karen Wolek made her a big star, and landed her a role on Who's the Boss? only a few years later. The scenes which Karen confessed to be a hooker were some of the most memorable in OLTL history and still used in acting class nearly twenty years later.

As for the fact that ABC usually sends AMC and GH stars to certain events....it has never been a big issue for me. Big whoop. ABC's publicity stunts usually tend to backfire anyway, so I'm glad that OLTL usually gets overlooked.

[marceline]

Judith Light is an acting goddess. I'm not trashing the quality of those scenes or what they did for her. They were memorable and iconic and they SHOULD be studied. But how many people know the name Karen Wolek vs. Erica Kane?

Right now, we're not talking about quality, we're talking about brand value. (At least I think that's what we're talking about.) We're talking about recognition and leveraging that recognition into revenue and profit because that's what'll keep your show on the air. For example, my favorite cola happens to be TAB (pause for laughter) but Coke and Pepsi are the ones with the "juice" as it were. I can't even buy TAB in my state. There may be plenty of colas that are better quality, (TAB, RC, Shasta) but when you go to a fast food restaurant its either Coke or Pepsi and as far as ABC is concerned they only have 2 soaps AMC and GH.

If you're glad OLTL gets overlooked for publicity stunts then I'm assuming you won't mind if/when OLTL is the first ABC soap to get canceled.

[DAYS]

The Actual Monthly Ratings:

January:

1. Y&R 5,409,000

2. B&B 3,750,000

3. DAYS 2,976,000

4. GH 2,849,000

5. ATWT 2,786,000

6. AMC 2,677,000

7. OLTL 2,580,000

8. GL 2,158,000

February:

1. Y&R 5,288,000 (-121,000)

2. B&B 3,540,000 (-210,000)

3. DAYS 2,936,000 (-40,000)

4. GH 2,771,000 (-78,000)

5. ATWT 2,668,000 (-118,000)

6. AMC 2,609,000 (-68,000)

7. OLTL 2,514,000 (-66,000)

8. GL 2,158,000 (+15,000)

March:

1. Y&R 5,200,000 (-88,000)

2. B&B 3,457,000 (-83,000)

3. DAYS 2,913,000 (-23,000)

4. GH 2,731,000 (-40,000)

5. AMC 2,699,000 (+90,000)

6. OLTL 2,687,000 (+173,000)

7. ATWT 2,654,000 (-14,000)

8. GL 2,213,000 (+55,000)

April:

1. Y&R 5,170,000 (-30,000)

2. B&B 3,421,000 (-36,000)

3. DAYS 2,842,000 (-71,000)

4. AMC 2,541,000 (-158,000)

5. GH 2,532,000 (-199,000)

6. ATWT 2,518,000 (-136,000)

7. OLTL 2,463,000 (-224,000)

8. GL 2,145,000 (-68,000)

May:

1. Y&R 5,009,000 (-161,000)

2. B&B 3,346,000 (-75,000)

3. DAYS 2,658,000 (-184,000)

4. GH 2,509,000 (-23,000)

5. AMC 2,491,000 (-50,000)

6. OLTL 2,474,000 (+11,000)

7. ATWT 2,445,000 (-73,000)

8. GL 2,009,000 (-136,000)

June:

1. Y&R 4,841,000 (-168,000)

2. B&B 3,147,000 (-199,000)

3. DAYS 2,729,000 (+71,000)

4. OLTL 2,524,000 (+50,000)

5. GH 2,488,000 (-21,000)

6. AMC 2,430,000 (-61,000)

7. ATWT 2,214,000 (-230,000)

8. GL 1,840,000 (-169,000)

July

1. Y&R 4,892,000 (+51,000)

2. B&B 3,289,000 (+142,000)

3. DAYS 2,640,000 (-89,000)

4. OLTL 2,523,000 (-1,000)

5. GH 2,502,000 (+14,000)

6. AMC 2,418,000 (-12,000)

7. ATWT 2,305,000 (+90,000)

8. GL 2,001,000 (+161,000)

[DRW50]

Any way but having someone who is remotely qualified be in charge. That's what I hate the most. They are going to cut OLTL for a show that they have completely and utterly destroyed. Moving to California isn't going to cover up the smell of death.

[Ann_SS]

Exactly. ABC is trying to save with the move to LA. OLTL is getting a chance to save itself, but it is obviously the one on the chopping block.

ITA. I don't think that any one of the ABC soaps is better than the other two. They are all about the same in quality and ratings. However, I understand why ABC chose AMC over OLTL. It is the same reason that Nightline choose to feature Susan Lucci, Cameron Mathison and AMC over the othe ABC soaps which is that they have name recognition with the general public. In the end, nothing will save GH or AMC from cancellation, but their brand value to ABC is buying these two soaps more time.

[chyti]

I bet most people don't even know those stars mentioned above even appeared on OLTL, Laurence Fishburne start in acting for me was Cornbread,Earl and Me I never even knew he was on OLTL till now and I probably seen every movie he starred in. The reality is that outside of the soap world OLTL is the least known soap doesn't matter how much regard soap fans or critics have for the show it has no real star appeal. AMC has Susan Lucci and Darnell/Demi even if their fame is in the past which doesn't matter in the entertainment industry.

Do the current OLTL stars have any star power in the industry outside of the soapworld?

[DRW50]

Aside from Susan Lucci, to a limited degree, none of the current AMC stars do either. Random appearances on ABC shows don't suggest otherwise, in my opinion. Cameron and Kelly being on DWTS shows ABC's preferences, but most of the boards I went to during those seasons had almost no idea who in the world Kelly or Cameron were. So I think it is more about someone at ABC's assumptions, or about past glories, not about any current brand value.