All: One soaps budget cut by 50% according to DC

[marceline]

IMO, that depends entirely on where the hammer has come from. I could easily see some Disney execs looking at the balance sheet and saying "CBS getting good numbers at half the cost. Kill a show, do more repeats, go to 3 shows a week, whatever, but come the next annual report you better have something good to say or "ABC Daytime" will consist of two talk show and reruns of Alias. Make it happen."

[NYC123]

Man this is really sad...

Soaps are dead.

ETA: I really think that which ever goes first AMC or OLTL the other will follow RIGHT behind it.

[MichaelGL]

I think ever since the move to L.A., AMC's budget has seemingly been shrinking, even more since D&D took over. I mean look how they've decreased the number of sets they use every week. The show's cast has dwindled quite much since the move to L.A. I honestly think what we're seeing on screen with AMC is a show that has already gone through budget cuts, so I don't think they could even sustain a 50 percent budget cut.

I think it's GH. There's been so much money thrown at that show, and IMO they have so little to show for it. Perhaps GH's 50 percent budget cut might put it at the same level budget wise that OLTL and AMC are at.

[NYC123]

I really think its GH as well.

The demos are the best out of the 3 ABC soaps but not good enough considering all the casting stunts and the events.

[RomeAt50]

I agree. AMC does look like it has been cutting down its budget and GH has the highest budget of all the ABC soaps. It does better in ratings and demographics but not that much better.

[jcar03]

I think it is GH as well. It probably has a bigger budget than AMC.

[bellcurve]

I think they should do a serial killer story on AMC and OLTL and move the remaining survivors to Los Angeles for a new start and new beginning with Erica Kane headlining the spinoff.

Oh wait...

[aMLCproduction]

my money is on GH

[NYC123]

[bellcurve]

How cool would that be though? To have Erica Kane airlifted onto a roof via helicopter!?

[dragonflies]

They're still #2 in demos though so they clearly make money for ABC, so I don't see it being GH for that reason alone. AMC has to be costing them some major bucks despite the move

[TC]

GH's numbers aren't that great. How much is .1 or .2 worth per episode in the demos? In total numbers GH, AMC, and OLTL have been playing musical chairs for the last three spots, and reportedly OLTL is the only show that comes in under budget. GH is the most expensive and its slightly higher numbers cannot justify the cost. If there is any common sense it should be GH. It's a business.

[dragonflies]

GH is still the #1 ABC soap, so that counts for something in it's favor. I honestly would be shocked if it's budget got cut. They are overbudget, they at least must make some of that bad during sweeps and whatnot

[R Sinclair]

The two things have nothing to do with each other. Whether it's All My Children, One Life to Live or General Hospital, all the money comes from the ABC pot since ABC owns and produces all three shows. All GH's position in the demos means is that ABC is able to charge advertisers more money during that hour. And... AND... it still doesn't mean that GH doesn't blow through its budget, either.

[DaytimeFan]

My money is on it being GH's budget simply because it's got a budget that could sustain a cut.

OLTL is at or under budget, AMC seems to have been drastically scaling its own back since the move to LA, the Bell soaps both sustained recent(ish) cuts and DAYS operates at 40% of what it used to run on. GH is the only show that's had money thrown at it to the point that it could stand to shift some financial weight.