Members Khan Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 Frankly, I don't ever want to see another soap rerun for as long as I live. (I'm watching old eps of "Coronation Street," b/c I'm checking out the British soaps. Btw, Carl, thanks much for your help in tracking down these puppies.) In the time since ATWT and GL's cancellations, I've tried on several occasions to watch old eps, but I never make it all the way through, simply b/c they remind me they're not on-air anymore, and that just gets me all riled up again. I'm not exaggerating when I say soaps frequently bring me to tears now for all the wrong reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vee Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 I watched Eastenders on PBS and "other sources" for years, it is deeply addictive. I maintain we could still learn so much from the Brits - OLTL especially could have taken tips from these gritty "kitchen sink dramas." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members marceline Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 I'm the same way. I know people who religiously watch old episodes and clips of favorite series, storylines and characters. I can't do that. It just pisses me off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 I too, think this will come to pass. I just don't see these companies sitting on all this content and not getting a single PENNY for it. If you can stream for free with commerials inserted, it WILL get viewers... and I hope and pray this happens. I really want Y&R to do this.... but I also realize that they fear people would abandon the current show for the juicy loveliness of Bill Bell's work. And to tell you the truth, they are probably right... I WOULD abandon the current the show if I could watch tons of episodes from the 70's and 80's. So we may only see this after cancellation. I would hope that until then we at least get a TASTE of classics here and there, like they USED to have on the soapcity site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dragonflies Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 They need to do an on demand network on cable for these, I have a primetime on demand channel it does include Soapnet, but it's only "Being Erica" they show in it. They could do a "daytime on demand" and show talk shows, game shows and whatnot. I get that channel for no extra charge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphanguy74 Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 Yes, I see all content going in some direction where in 10 years, you can basically purchase on demand nearly every TV show that's ever been made. technology is moving so fast, and since this type of model doens't require manufacture of physical media, it's a sweetheart deal for these companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nell17 Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 The whole thing is sad. No offense to Michael Logan, but I wonder who his source is. He just posted interviews today with Guza and some OLTL -people so did he talk to someone on the soaps or at ABC. Is it one person talking and are there multiple people saying the same thing. No discrediting anything he's saying, just wondering cause it's strange how this is getting passed around. When I first heard the rumor, I didn't think cancellation for AMC or OLTL at least not until next year when SOAPnet was done or when Susan Lucci's contract was up with ABC hoping she would retire so that they could end the show. I figured that "changes to the daytime lineup" meant time slot changes and only one new show to replace Oprah. With Regis leaving essentially making whatever happens with Kelly a brand new show, and Oprah leaving, I didn't expect so them getting rid of familiar faces on daytime. They would just slash the budgets even more, fired JHC or/and JFP, tried more product placement or cross promotions and kept going. I figured the lineup would look like this (in LA where I am) 9am Live with Kelly and ? 10am New Show 11 The View Noon Affiliate hour (News) 1pm AMC 2pm OLTL 3pm GH 4pm Affiliate hour (News) I sure guessed wrong. It seems like a bad business move to me to do it this way, imo. It's so abrupt, I don't know. What I'm confused by and if anyone knows, wouldn't the affiliates have to approve this programming changes, them dropping a whole two hours for something new. Was there a affiliates meeting that where this was discussed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeeeDee Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 Go Frons! Winning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Carolyn1980 Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 My take on all this? Canceling both is all about Brian Frons' ego, and saving face. He bet on the wrong horse by sending AMC to L.A., a move that would not recoup the costs of the move unless the show remained on air for at least 3-5 more years (at this point, it's been less than 2). But canceling the higher-rated (in the key advertiser-friendly demo) OLTL looks bad to the bosses, and also the bottom line. Also, canceling AMC leaves open the question of possibly moving OLTL to L.A. to AMC's abandoned digs...but such a move would incur more costs, and seems like a poor investment on a show that might only last another year or two, tops. So how to solve the problem, and still look good to your bosses? Cancel both, and say hey, we'll save all this money by airing these cheaper shows, and soaps are dying anyway. Problem solved. Face saved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 You're probably right. That's one of the reasons I can't believe it's just about costs. I think it's also about spite and ego - this is what has been destroying ABC Daytime for years now. I would love to believe we will one day be able to see everything through our own choice, many years of material, but if the big money has its way, I doubt it will happen. They hate Netflix, they want to limit or make people pay big for streaming video, etc. It's all about control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LoyaltoAMC Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 I think the decision to cancel goes further up the food chain than Frons. I don't think he is ultimately responsible for such decisions. As for the old soaps, I love them and could watch an old-soap channel 24x7, but I really don't think there's a venue for them. All these cable networks are also trying to appeal to the 18-49 demos, and that audience is not there for these shows. Just look at what happened to AW when it aired on SoapNet. It got a 0.0 rating in the 18-49's. Not sure how Ryan's Hope is doing, but I can't imagine it pulls any type of decent numbers or the network wouldn't be showing it as 5am filler. USA re-aired episodes of Search, Edge, and Peyton Place years ago with no success. Yes, I suppose there are certain channels geared toward an older viewership, but would any ad revenue make up for what must be significant costs of acquiring these shows? I would think those costs would be prohibitive. I don't think that would be the same as easily scooping up a bargain-basement 5-season package of Who's the Boss. I would think The Doctors would be one of the last shows any network would want to air. As Eric said, although it was popular in the early 70s, the last five or six years of the show were chaotic, plagued by a merry-go-round of HWs and ill-conceived plots and characters. Kind of like the last five or six years of the remaining shows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeeeDee Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 Oh the schadenfreude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 I think there's a venue for everything. The question is marketing. No one cares. It's easier to just make every cable channel seem exactly alike, even as this means many of the channels slide into irrelevance. There aren't even that many episodes available of the older soaps, so why not put the episodes that are available from the 50's or 60's or 70's onto DVD releases, and have the actors who are still with us do some commentary or give an intro? This could be advertised in the soap magazines, in EW, TV Guide, at fan events, on websites. You could release a special DVD for weddings. Or one that sort of laughs at the hair and wardrobe. Or about a big moment in a storyline. It would not cost very much - the actors got paid nothing for reruns after all - and could generate some surprise interest. Look at how much life the Dark Shadows reruns gained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Adam Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 Goodness, ABC must be getting off on this torture they are putting fans through. Obviously the lack of a denial suggests they are considering this option or its a done deal. Getting rid of both OLTL and AMC at the same time is probably better, because you know if one does go the other won't be far behind. Interesting development.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LoyaltoAMC Posted April 2, 2011 Members Share Posted April 2, 2011 I think Dark Shadows is a bit different. That show has had a cult following to this day, and the fans still hold conventions. It's still sort of part of the pop culture landscape. Most of the old shows are now long-forgotten, remembered by a handful of fans, the number of which probably wouldn't justify any type of DVD release. Also with these old shows, what if there are missing episodes that could screw up the continuity? That's something to take into consideration too. I really wish there was a venue for these shows too. I think I'd become a shut-in if an old-soap channel were to pop up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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