GH out last Y&R? :lol: :lol:

There's a reason people will have the "That show was still on?" and "People still watch soaps?" reaction over the next few months. They don't not watch soaps because "Oh, As the World Turns does not focus on the Hughes family much anymore, and I don't like that" or "Oh, I'm not a fan of the misogynistic writing on One Life to Live." Those are our reasons for not watching at a given time, but to the Average Tim and the Average Tanya, they're not watching soaps because "Uh...I work in the daytime...and when I'm off, I'm sleeping...or taking care of errands...or watching Law & Order...don't really have time to get into soaps. These days, how many people do?" And that's when the content of the soaps comes into play: "I could tape them or DVR them and watch them at night, but that's when I watch *insert any random primetime or cable show here*, and I'm not giving that up for some crazy soap."

Primetime is the same way.

It doesn't draw the same audience it used to but it still draws a significant audience.

The problem with Daytime is that in it's desperate determination to gain & maintain credibility it ditched everything that made it worthwhile television.

The problem with Daytime is that in it's desperate determination to gain & maintain credibility it ditched everything that made it worthwhile television.

I didn't quite know how to reinforce that yes, the stories on these shows have let us down and have played a part in their death, but this is basically it. Like I said on another board, I'd hate to be any body in a position of power at any soap right now. I can feel their pain, except for the jackasses who say stupid things to the press (Frons!). That pressure to get up sagging ratings that are falling inevitably? Oh Lord no. I'm fine right here on this side of the screen.

ETA: Oh, and for the record, CBS had BETTER do the Pyramid remake.

Edited December 8, 200916 yr by All My Shadows

I've just talked with Eileen Fulton who confirmed it with great sadness

Well.. maybe since this is ending, they'll actually give her some meat and potatoes for a Storyline? It would be nice. I'm of the opinion that P&G's claim that they are looking for another outlet is just HOT AIR. They don't want to do it anymore, but they don't want to piss off the 3 million consumers that buy their products. Theyr'e LYING, pure and simple. If P&G REALLY wanted to keep ATWT on the air, they could threaten to pull all of their sponsorship from CBS daytime and send it all to NBC, ABC, and FOX. Here's a question, why doens't FOX get ONE soap? I'd think FOX affiliates would appreciate something that has built in viewership.

FOX 5 News in NY just did a piece on ATWT's cancellation (with tons of Noelle Beck clips), they had a couple of on-the-street interviews with people who surmised much of the same... reality TV, less women (and as the guy being interviewed emphasized, less men too) home to watch, changing priorities/tastes, et cetera. The reporter mentioned the planned effort to shop the show to a new network, but pointed out the outcome was still grim as GL had tried in vain to do the same. They also flashed a bit of Barbara Bloom's statement.

Spot on DeeeDee! I was looking at a list of the top ten highest viewed TV episodes of the decade and some of the episodes had 50 episodes. At the very least, maybe 30 million viewers. Now? High rated shows just barely can get 20 million viewers. 9-10 million viewers used to mean cancellation, now it's fine. Ratings are down everywhere. Doesn't mean soaps are dead. Their ratings are still good when compared with most daytime shows. Ellen gets around the same amount of viewers as ATWT last time I checked and look at her profile. The problem with soaps is that nobody cares and they have no champions. We need publicists out getting the word out. We need these actors on the front page of magazines. OK!, TV Guide, Ebony, Essence, etc. We need them on talk shows. We need cross promotion in primetime (look at Alison Sweeney!).

Of course you need quality too, but they could be doing better if they tried. Nobody cares, including the people employed on soaps, so they're sealing their own fate. If it took some budget cuts to get a great PR team, so be it! They'll pay top dollar to get a big "star," but not to save their show. Idiots in charge sums it up perfectly.

This is what it all boils down to, as far as I'm concerned. People can go on and on about storylines, characters, production values, etc, and to an extent, they would be true, but come on...you can't fight common sense. There are less people home during the day now than there were 35 years ago, and those people at home have an outrageous amount of choices in TV viewing today, if they even decide to watch TV. It's not the only cause for soaps dying out, but we all have to realize, it's the #1. Of course, when the shows give you little to want to tune in for, that hurts, but come on! The days of 10 million people watching the same show at 1 in the afternoon are over. No amount of "back to basis" writing is going to change that, ever. A decreasing daytime audience + an increasing number of viewing options = somebody loses.

I have been saying this forever. I admire what Days is doing in grabbing back some of its lost audience, but it is the exception to the reality of a socio-demographic shift and the many more viewing choices. I readily admit that I get caught up in Law & Order and sometimes to forget that the soaps are on. I think that this is why the networks do not bother to change headwriters and EPs because they believe that nothing can bring back the daytime audience en masse.

Edited December 8, 200916 yr by Ann_SS

I didn't quite know how to reinforce that yes, the stories on these shows have let us down and have played a part in their death, but this is basically it. Like I said on another board, I'd hate to be any body in a position of power at any soap right now. I can feel their pain, except for the jackasses who say stupid things to the press (Frons!). That pressure to get up sagging ratings that are falling inevitably? Oh Lord no. I'm fine right here on this side of the screen.

Yep.

Soap Execs have no one to blame but itself for it's failure.

Daytime's been a self fufilling prophecy for years because instead of doing the hard work & changing WITH the times as they used to they kept employing quick fixes & tried to enforce unsuccessful formulas on the audience.

The reality is people do watch Daytime even in now it's current sorry state but they lack patience with an industry that sneers at it's own beginnings, acts like diversity is a 4 letter word & treats it's audience with disdain.

I think this means the existing CBS soaps will be more micromanaged than before now. Y&R and B&B are both in the creative shitter anyway, so it might not make much of a difference. For Y&R, I'm at least hoping Maria will be pressured to hire more qualified people to help her run that show and changes will be made to the writing and producing team.

I really hope CBS gives ATWT's spot back to the affiliates, I'm not really in the mood for some cheaply produced game show with an annoying host.

Does CBS/Paramount want to produce a new talk show perhaps? There's always Oprah's void to fill, and she's ending in September 2010 too...

Unless they're gonna replace it with Pyramid, they mgiht qas well give it back to the affiliates. Also, if P&G really wanted to keep ATWT going, they could just go with first run syndication. And the many of those affiliates that carried it, would STILL carry it.

I didn't quite know how to reinforce that yes, the stories on these shows have let us down and have played a part in their death, but this is basically it. Like I said on another board, I'd hate to be any body in a position of power at any soap right now. I can feel their pain, except for the jackasses who say stupid things to the press (Frons!). That pressure to get up sagging ratings that are falling inevitably? Oh Lord no. I'm fine right here on this side of the screen.

ETA: Oh, and for the record, CBS had BETTER do the Pyramid remake.

Pyramid! One of my favorite game shows. Pyramid!

I have been saying this forever. I admire what Days is doing in grabbing back some of its lost audience, but it is the exception to the reality of a socio-demographic shift and the many more viewing choices. I readily admit that I get caught up in Law & Order and sometimes to forget that the soaps are on. I think that this is why the networks do not bother to change headwriters and EPs because they believe that nothing can bring back the daytime audience en masse.

It's the truth, and TPTB have been pushing the "more options, more channels, less audience" thing for years, too. People have always wrote that off as an excuse, though. I don't see why. It's not like it's not true.

I have to admit that my non-soap diversion in daytime is usually Murder, She Wrote LOL You get a fabulous murder mystery in just 60 minutes. It's never as emotional as a soap murder mystery or as expansive, but it's just as much exciting and and satisfying as far as TV goes.

They also flashed a bit of Barbara Bloom's statement.

Barbara Bloom in an incompetent C*NT and needs to lose her job. NOW.

Edited December 8, 200916 yr by alphanguy74

The problem with soaps is that nobody cares and they have no champions. We need publicists out getting the word out. We need these actors on the front page of magazines. OK!, TV Guide, Ebony, Essence, etc. We need them on talk shows. We need cross promotion in primetime (look at Alison Sweeney!).

Of course you need quality too, but they could be doing better if they tried. Nobody cares, including the people employed on soaps, so they're sealing their own fate. If it took some budget cuts to get a great PR team, so be it! They'll pay top dollar to get a big "star," but not to save their show. Idiots in charge sums it up perfectly.

EXACTLY.

It's 2009.

America has a BLACK First Family yet Daytime refuses to invest in minority couples or anything beyond a few isolated individual token characters.

GLBTQ viewers are tired of being fed social interest stories that are dropped once the newness & critical praise wears off.

Women don't want to watch women under 40 being victimized daily or Women over 40 being told they're worthless unless they accept that their lives are over.

Even OUTSTANDING writing can't overcome a lack of commitment & incorporation of social change.

Edited December 8, 200916 yr by DeeeDee

I will concede that the soaps have done its part to turn off the viewers that they do have with poor storytelling and overall crappiness. However, I don't think that there is anything that any soap can do to stop the erosion of its audience in the long run. Even Days is eventually going to lose its audience gains.

Edited December 8, 200916 yr by Ann_SS

EXACTLY.

It's 2009.

America has a BLACK First Family yet Daytime refuses to invest in minority couples or anything beyond a few isolated individual token characters.

GLBTQ viewers are tired of being fed social interest stories that are dropped once the newness & critical praise wears off.

Women don't want to watch women under 40 being victimized daily or Women over 40 being told they're worthless unless they accept that their lives are over.

Even OUTSTANDING writing can't overcome a lack of commitment & incorporation of social change.

Yep. You got it.