February 15-19, 2010

[Melroser]

I wouldn't mind a couple of ATWT actors coming aboard OL but if done well. Preferably as recasts of former prominent characters or direct relatives of current characters. Why get rid of languishing characters now, just to bring in other new characters.

I would love for Julie Pinson to come on but there are too many great gals already in her age group.

[Mr. Vixen]

i think atwt could do good at NBC...but i dont think it will happen.

i could see ATWT in syndication.

[Saving ATWT]

At this point, I also doubt that ATWT can be saved; however, it should be pointed out that the demos aren't much worse than those of B&B or OLTL: in 18-34 the show ranked .1 lower than Bold and only .2 below One Life. When it comes to the young girl demo, World Turns out did B&B. In truth, AMC, B&B, ATWT and OLTL are virtually in a dead heat in demos with ATWT only slightly behind. With a lead in like Bold in the east, the demos are bound to be poor but I do wonder what the ratings would be like with Days as a lead plus a new writing/production team. World Turns has been labled the 'old lady' soap but, in reality, all four soaps deserve the old lady distinction. (As a side note, it is striking how B&B has become just one of the gang and no longer super-special from a ratings standpoint. People consider the Bell soaps to be special but only Y&R has any ratings strength.)

I see a great chance for OLTL with ATWT going off the air. IF the show were to pick up four or five characters from the heap, I could honestly see OLTL becoming the number one ABC soap. In many markets, OLTL will be the only soap running in it's time slot. With the right mix of good writing and ATWT talent, I could see OLTL jumping up into the #3 slot next season. The is no way ABC will cancel the soap now.

I do wish another network would buy ATWT and retool the program. World Turns is doing quite well for a dead soap and might gain steam on NBC. I now the myth about soaps doing badly after changing networks but all that happen in a different era long before the remote control, DVR and the net.

[Mr. Vixen]

I think OLTL could possibly be wise to pick up some ATWT characters. But they would have to do it strategically. I mean like putting out polls, surveys, etc. online or something like that, asking what characters loyal fans are most likely to follow to another show. If they really did it right, and chose the right characters, then I think it could be a success..

I mean, you have too look at other times this has happened, when AW ended, they put some characters on ATWT...As I recall, that didnt work out too well, I dont think...

But, I definitely think OLTL could get some of ATWT's fanbase if they open up to the idea of having some Oakdale residents in Llanview. I hope it happens, honestly.

[Melroser]

in regards to ATWT characters being picked up by OL...

I was a big fan of Another World and was heartbroken when it was cancelled. I, however, did not follow my fave characters Jake and Vicky to ATWT. 1. I was mad at Procter & Gamble for ending AW

2. I figured that ATWT would ruin Jake and Vicky (which in my opinion they did. Not only that...they killed both of them which I will not forgive.)

3. This is when I started watching OL because the show had picked up several former AW cast members such as Robin Christopher, Tim Gibbs, John Bolger, Kale Browne, and was adding Linda Dano. This gave ATWT 'competition' in my opinion.

There may not be the competition now like there was, but would die-hard ATWT fans trust OL enough to continue the same characters? I think OL would be better off picking up a couple of the best actors from ATWT and creating new roles. This might help to lessen the tuning out with 'that character would never do that' type of mantra.

[Eric83]

Why would OLTL pick up ATWT characters?

Their canvas is crowded enough, and they would have to buy the characters from P&G, which ABC will NOT do.

When AW characters went to ATWT,the characters were free becuase both soaps were owned by P&G.

ATWT will not go to NBC either. This IS the same network that pretty much hates soaps, where would they get the time anyway? They gave away their 2pm timeslot for a fourth hour of today. DAYS and ATWT are too different in style anyway, it wouldn't mesh well. ATWT just needs to die no CBS with a little bit of dignity.

My fave soap GL is gone, and I wasn't begging to have them thrown on another soap. These are these shows last years, and I wouldn't want them polluted with characters from another soap.

[SOAPSFOREVER]

I would argue with your aside about B&B. It has seen a decline nationally, but internationally it's still a powerhouse, especially in certain countries. No other American soap can claim that mantle. The Bell soaps, whether here (Y&R) or abroad (B& do seem to set themselves apart from the pack.)

[SOAPSFOREVER]

In the weeks following cancellation, viewers were tuning back in for nostalgic reasons, I would postulate. The uptick didn't last that long. I think this speaks to the weakness of the show as a whole. While I love the World Turns of Doug Marland, Bill Bell and Irna Phillips, it's heyday has long since past. I still hold Chris Goutman primarily responsible, as I do Ellen Wheeler at GL. Granted, there are many multiple factors that converged to cause both soaps to be canceled, but both Wheeler and Goutman failed to take the pulse of its core audience accurately enough and quickly enough. (I'd argue the same is true of Babs Bloom, who should have been fired long ago for her ineptitude.)

[bellcurve]

Brad Bell has repeatedly stated in interviews that, while international revenue is good for the show, that doesn't mean anything domestically. CBS has no vested interest in keeping Y&R and B&B if they tumble, regardless of if they are popular abroad. If that were the case, NBC(or another network) would still be airing Santa Barbara/Sunset Beach.

If Brad is focused on pleasing an international audience, then he's being extremely short-sighted. Nationally, B&B might be doing well, but if individual markets are unimpressed with the show's performance or have a desire to expand their newscasts to a full hour and move up or push back Y&R to make that happen, they will relegate B&B to late-nights or not air the show at all. And that will hurt the show.

B&B had a safe haven of being surrounded by ATWT and Y&R for years in certain markets. But as this sore thumb of a half-hour, the show appears to be very expendable. And given the recession, some markets may want to expand their newscasts for local ad revenue, especially if the particular CBS affiliate's news is profitable or is a worthy competitor.

So, while international revenue is good for The Bells and SONY, it's not good for CBS and especially not its affiliates, who are more and more willing to give up on daytime network programming for a KCAL-esque afternoon block. CBS and the affils could give a damn about "international revenue."

[JimTolkien]

ICAM with you on this. Frankly I am amazed CBS still airs the crap that is being written/produced for them to put on their network from these 2 shows. I keep saying if the Bells think they are so hot, go get your own network and produce your own shows. From a Y&R perspective I am so ticked off at MAB..all she did was weaken the show to the point where it hardly has any bargaining power at all. Other well-run companies in this downturn have managed to did deep down, be a bit creative and somehow manage to make themselves better regardless of how bad things get. When you write stories where your smart audience can predict what's going to happen 3 months out or sometimes even longer, you have a problem.

I am already in countdown mode - it will only be a matter of time. The saying goes S*#t tends to stay on top of the bowl for a little while and then it starts to sink and then it stinks up the place and then you have no other choice but to flush it.

[beebs]

The one Olympics I remember seeing the ratings for and being amazed by was Atlanta '96. I guess because of how things were scheduled, Days and especially AW got HUGE gains those weeks (.7 for AW), and for the first time since probably the 80s AW rose into #8 ahead of GL. I suppose though that the influence is greater during the summer olympics than the winter ones then?

[bellcurve]

I agree that the arrogance and the "we're always gonna be #1 and #2" have put them in this position to where they(the Bells and those in charge of the Bell shows previously) cannot take criticism or want to do anything to fix their shows. It will be too late by that point.

I think after her buddy Latham got the axe at Y&R, Barbara Bloom viewed CBS Daytime as such a non-entity and a wasteland. And she IS a slag(as DaytimeFan said last year) for not caring about the growth potential of her dramas. But look at what she has to deal with: a pair of arrogant, spoiled, lazy showrunners who view their respective properties as a platform to push their self-congratulatory agendas onto the screen. Who could blame Bloom for wanting to replace everything with lower-cost fare like a gameshow to keep her job and possibly advance to Tellem/Tassler/Ostroff/Moonves territory? She knows daytime is dead as long as hacks are in charge of driving down the shows that are the tentpoles of her lineup.

That's why there was very little, if any opposition, to Atlanta going rogue and putting Y&R on at 3PM opposite GH. Because Bloom knows these shows are self-destructing and there's nothing she can do about it. And I expect to see more affiliates shift Y&R and B&B into random timeslots or even worse in the case of B&B, not air the show at all.

[Soapsuds]

That can be said about all the soaps on right now not just ATWT.

[Saving ATWT]

Rux, totally agree--World Turns ratings aren't far behind the ABC pack (.3 in HH) and the show beat OLTL in total viewers. In terms of demos, again, the numbers are pretty close to the those of B&B, AMC, and OLTL. Also, ATWT came in at 4th place in households just only two years ago.

ATWT main problem is lack of promo, for example, none of the soap mags ever give the show a cover story. Also, the show does lack the name recog of a show like AMC or Days. With that said, it would be very easy for a good showrunner--unlike Goutman--to retool the show and get ratings up.

I blame Bloom for not demanding that TeleNext remove Goutman and Co.; however, the show was doing well ratings wise until 2008 and I assume she didn't want to rock the boat. Oddly enough, I think Latham might have been a good pick for ATWT given her work on Knots and Homefront. Latham is good at family drama and that is what ATWT does.

B&B is doomed. ATWT and B&B have been trending in the same direction for a long time now with both shows loosing roughly the same amount of viewers and at the bottom with demos. Considering that B&B is the lead in for ATWT in many markets, World Turns was at a major disadvantage, especially in demos. Within two years, B&B will bleed enough viewers to be exactly in ATWT position.

[bellcurve]

OH GIVE ME A BREAK!

CBS(as a whole) has always skewed older auds and ATWT was no exception. B&B could have them demos of Sunday Night Desperate Housewives in it's heydey and ATWT would still be struggling in the 18-49 female.

I'm not even a huge fan of B&B these days, but with all due respect do not put ATWT's failures onto B&B. The show has always skewed an older audience and still continues to skew an older audience.