May 10-14, 2010

[Eric83]

I meant that CBS would have kept ATWT through September 2011.

[Cyberologist]

[Soapsuds]

ATWT and GL cancellation sealed the death of soaps. Yes, there will still be 6 soaps but pretty soon Days or OLTL will be axed. Leaving less and less soaps on the air.

[Max]

Marceline, I was not at all being sarcastic in my original post. I seriously believe that it is extremely unfair for DOOL and the ABC soaps to continue to remain on the air for pulling in the same ratings that GL and ATWT got upon their cancellations. In a world that is perfectly fair, a soap's fate would be based solely upon objective measures (like ratings); no soap deserves to stay on the air longer because of a fanatical fan base or the favoritism it receives from the soap magazines.

Of course, we do live in an unfair world. And, that is why I would be willing to bet almost anything that DOOL and the ABC soaps (aside from OLTL) will still be around five (maybe even ten or more) years from now, no matter how low their ratings go. (Perhaps they might not be on network television, but they will be alive on some medium.) Their continued survival won't have anything to do with merit or ratings, but rather will be the result of soap media bias and some crazy fans who will refuse to let their soaps go at any cost.

[Eric83]

Um, what are you talking about? No soap has reached the ratings GL hit in 2008/2009, and not to mention that GL and ATWT sucked in the demos, which is what the advertisers look at when they are buying ad space. CBS cancelled those shows, so I see no need to hate on shows on different networks. DAYS had major budget cuts and had good demos, that is why they are here. The ABC soaps are owned by the network, so their ratings can get a little lower and still stay on because it is network owned and ABC can make cuts as necessary. GL and ATWT's bad demos, bad ratings, and horrible decisions from TPTB at both shows (as well as P&G ) is the reason these shows went first, not because of crazy fanbases.

[Max]

Eric, the current ratings for DOOL and the ABC soaps are virtually indentical to what ATWT received upon its cancellation. (GL was .1 or .2 points lower when it got cancelled; the new lows it hit came after it received the ax.) As for those "all-important" demos, they sure seem to suck right now for DOOL; apart from GH, ABC really isn't doing much better.

I realize that some will bring up the argument that ABC owns its soaps, so they (objectively) deserve a longer life despite lower ratings. Yet, ownership or no, there has to come a point when a show's ratings are so horrendous that cancellation is merited. If we use the logic that the AMC and GH deserve to remain on the air regardless of their ratings performance, then how is that fair to fans of Loving/The City and Port Charles? Those soaps were ABC owned yet still cancelled, despite bringing in higher ratings than what AMC and GH receive now. (Well, okay, I'm not 100% certain if Port Charles dipped slighly below the all-time ratings nadirs hit by the current ABC soaps.) The fact that ABC owned Loving/The City and Port Charles did not exempt them from the consequences of poor ratings performance; AMC and GH should not be any different (their rabid fan bases and the pimping they receive from the soap media do not make them "special" soaps).

[Eric83]

Loving wasnt owned by ABC, and the reason that they are holding on to AMC/OLTL/GH is because those shows have been on the air for over 40 years, and just giving up on those shows isnt an option for them. Loving, The City, and Port Charles dont have the longevity, loyal audience, and recognition that the remaining ABC soaps have (Yes, even OLTL). There is no point trying to compare AMC/OLTL/GH to those others.

Days' demos suck now, but they didnt when they got a renewal, so that is a moot point. Days was actually headed out the door before GL/ATWT, but their cost cutting and ratings reneissance saved it. When it comes down to it the P&G soaps had bad demos, and werent owned by CBS, so they got the axe.

Believe me, I watched GL on and off for nearly 20 years, and I wish it had lasted longer, but I understand this is a buisness and somebody had to go first.

[Max]

Eric, I apologize for being so argumentative, but I thought that Loving was purchased by ABC before it went off the air. (I know that it originally was owned by Agnes Nixon's company, but I believed she then sold it to ABC. However, I could be mistaken on this matter.)

Also, I want to clarify that I didn't have a problem with GL and ATWT getting axed first. (That was justified, since they were first to hit these ratings lows.) What I have a problem with is the fact that DOOL and the ABC soaps (aside from OLTL) are likely to remain on the air (come renewal time) even though their ratings are now at (roughly) the point where the P&G soaps were upon getting cancelled. Anbody has a right to dislike me for this viewpoint, but I strongly feel that there should not be one standard for the P&G soaps (as well as the defunct ABC soaps I previously mentioned) and a completely different standard for AMC, DOOL, and GH when it comes to cancellation.

[AS THE WORLD TURNS]

I get what you mean now.

[AS THE WORLD TURNS]

DAYS was the one that hit lows before GL and ATWT and it went into last place with AMC. DAYS did rebound though that was back in 2007 and I think 2008. ABC soaps don't get renewed they are owned by ABC and if they canceled them I think they are gone just as fast as a primetime show I could be wrong though. But I am right about them not getting renewed. The only soaps that get renewed now are Y&R, B&B and DAYS. I think Y&R and B&B are renewed until 2012 and DAYS is renewed until 2011.

[Llantano Incorporated]

All I care about is that OLTL continues to beat AMC in the 18-49. It is fun to watch. I know OLTL will be cancelled within a year or so, and I am at peace with that. It is simply fun to watch OLTL beat AMC in the prized demo, and I hope they keep it up. And I find OLTL unwatchable right now. But you know Frons is PISSED off any week AMC loses to OLTL.

I find all of the soaps to be creatively dead. I do hear some decent things about GH.

I am genuinely sad about Days right now- it was so much fun watching this show's growth over the last year or so. I really felt it would have been the #2 soap by now. It was the only show that gave some hope to a completely dead medium.

[OLTL_fan]

ABC seriously needs to fire OLTL headwriter Ron Carlivati. Hes obviously out of ideas. Every year its the same thing. Some gets diagnosed with a deadly disease, pregnancy storylines which are seriously getting sooo old, any person who comes to Llanview ends up becoming the son or daughter of someone who lives in Llanview, etc. Also the ridiculous teen Jessica storyline (thank God thats over!) Also what most fans hate, CHANGING HISTORY!!! This man has done that too often. And he goes ahead and wants Jean Passatante from ATWT. Yea, I guess he wants OLTL ratings to go even lower.

Cancel any of those ABC soaps, people will be in an uproar. Those 3 soaps have been together for too long. At least hire a better writer. A teen musical aint gonna help ratings.

[marceline]

Not only is it an option, it's an increasingly attractive one.

The reason ABC is holding on to these shows is because they don't have a replacement for them yet. Regardless of whether they've been on forty years or four months, the moment the network has a viable replacement ready to go, they're gone.

[Sylph]

So, marceline, you won't reply to what Max had to say? And no, this is not baiting, I'm intrigued by the possible answers.

[Eric83]

I agree with this, but what I am saying is the reason they have let these shows go on so long and havent pulled the plug like they did with Loving, etc. is because they have been on for years and have a somewhat loyal base audience that will be there to the end, and they wont let it go at the drop of a hat for some new programming yet. That ties in directly to what youre saying about them waiting for a viable replacement for the soaps, which I dont believe ABC has yet.