ABC Daytime to Make Major Lineup Decisions in Coming Weeks

[TeamEric]

Since ABC owns their shows they can cancel mid season and introduce the replacement in January.

[quartermainefan]

soap actors are fools to stay on soaps. When you think of who it is that made it to primetime or beyond, it isn't the so-called best actors in daytime, it is the Hunks of Passions. Justin Hartley, the original Ethan, whathisname who was just cast on Dallas, from DOOL Eric Winter, the Supernatural guy before him...you have to leave and give it a shot.

[SFK]

Exactly! And she never did a soap to my knowledge, but it took Edie Falco years as well.

[TeamEric]

Actually there is NO ABC Oprah time slot as she's a syndicated show. The affiliates control where and when Oprah airs.

When NBC expanded to a 4th hour of Today show, not all affiliates signed up for it. So it's not automatic that ABC affiliates will pick up their new Talk Show replacement. Those contracts are a bitch to negotiate and some ABC affiliates been wanting to expand their noon news hour to 2 hours and AMC's slot is then more attractive.

I feel like Daytime Confidential should check with a major market affiliate to get the full picture of what's likely going down. This is beyond a soap vs talk show discussion but a time slot fight IMO.

[DRW50]

Some of them do give it a shot but then go nowhere. I can see why some actors stay. For every actor who leaves and makes it there are many who don't, or who are lucky to have one or two moments before going to obscurity. I think of all the hype around actors like Jonathan Jackson that amounted to nothing. These days there is less and less reason to go - there are fewer jobs available, and soaps are fading out anyway, so you might as well save up while you can and then have more money ready to sit on.

[Kylie]

They'll still be an open spot though, right? And it needs to be filled by something.

[SFK]

NY, D.C., Boston, and Philadelphia do The View at 11, news, Millionaire at 12:30, AMC at 1:00, OLTL, GH, Oprah. In Baltimore, Oprah airs on the NBC affiliate, the ABC affiliate airs The Doctors at 4pm (and an hour of The People's Court from noon-1:00 instead of news and Millionaire).

[Kylie]

Hmmm, in Cali, it's been awhile since I watched anything before AMC, but it used to go: R&K at 9, the View at 10, News at 11, AMC at 12, OLTL at 1, GH at 2 and Oprah at 3. (The soaps and Oprah haven't changed) I'm not sure I understand how it works with Oprah's slot. Can ABC do what they want with it? Or is it some other kind decision on what goes there?

[SFK]

I guess it's a matter of what ABC decides to offer for a particular time slot (soaps, new talk show or shows) if anything at all, or will it be open for syndicated (like Oprah and her spinoffs, judge shows) or local programming (local news/chat).

[Jonathan]

Correct. It's all relative to the market. LA for example, already has an hour of news right before All My Children. There's a lot of ?? in this report.

[JackPeyton]

So, ABC is going to axe a soap to put a talk show in its place to replace oprah, who is syndicated and on later in the day?

Yeah, i am sure. Because that has tons of logic in it.

DC has been proclaiming the death of a abc soap for years now, at some point they will be right and say "we told you so, going back years, and nobody believed us!"

[Khan]

Pretty much.

Frankly, I don't want either show to go. Yet, on the other hand, I'm with Gary Tomlin (who was reportedly offered AMC before going over to DAYS): I don't think "the Kids" can be saved. Too much about that show has been destroyed and altered beyond recognition.

[Khan]

Not necessarily. IIRC, at the height of her "reign," Oprah, in conjunction with King World Syndicate, insisted that each affiliate run her show during the 4 pm hour, the logic being that no matter where one was in the country, they'd know where and when she was on.

[Vee]

I think AMC can totally be saved. The problem is that Frons is not willing to see the necessary changes to the fabric of the show made. He'll push Rylee, etc. right to the end.

[JackPeyton]

Yup.

AMC could easily be saved if they would bring someone good in, with a plan, and let them stick to it without frons pushing his agenda. I do not under stand his love for Rylee, because even the actors reportedly have said they do not want it.