June 20-24, 2011

[DRW50]

I'm sure it is cheaper than OLTL, but between the rumors of problems behind the scenes, and all the stuff with the Biggest Loser people suspending the BL producers for doing The Revolution, I wonder if any of that runs up a cost.

[Eric83]

What would Errol get out of giving false hope?

And TSJ was going to leave anyway whether the show was ending or not IMO. And Robin Strasser and Gina Tognoni left on their own,

[marceline]

It keeps those people coming to the site. As long as the devoted think that one day they'll come here or any other soap site and see that OLTL is safe or has been bought, they'll keep coming. I'm not trying to be mean. Business is business. Look at which show gets the most writeups. SON knows who its customer base is and it feeds those customers. Good for them. You can put a million things on the menu but if most of your customers order the McNuggets then it makes sense for you to concentrate on creating new fancy sauces for them instead of developing a new salad for the ten people who want one. If people ask for the McRib, then grab the barbecue sauce and get serving.

But even if The Chew or The Revolution fails, OLTL is still gone and so is GH. It'll either be a new talk/reality show or that time will go back to the affiliates because (and you know what I'm going to say)...

Disney wants out of the soap business.

[JONNYSBRO]

I have a very reliable source in the know and let me tell you DO NOT DISCOUNT anything Eroll is telling you on the board. ABC and Sweeney are really looking at OLTL right now. They are monitoring the show especially after last weeks ratings increase. The show is up almost 500,000 viewers from last year and its been steadily number 3 since April. When we were celebrating OLTL's big increase after OLTL cancellation, ABC chalked that up to viewer interest after cancellation. The truth of the matter is AMC has been absymal and hasn't budged since the cancellation but OLTL has. It has beaten GH for months in viewership and it beat it one week in demos. OLTL is far cheaper show to execute then GH and even with GH's big paycut show is disaster to keep in budget.

OLTL has been under budget three years in a row and the show is still making ABC money. ABC doesn't want in the soap biz anymore but right now they are nervous. The Chew is ready to go but because of all this viewer backlash, the project is practically DOA. The Revolution is becoming a mess I heard, show is not what they want it to be. ABC daytime is in a mess right now. AMC is going, GH is declining bigtime but the one ray of light is OLTL which IMO was cancelled before its time. ABC did all this wrong they should have timed all these cancellations better. IMO what they should have done is cancel AMC only in April and launched the Chew. IMO it might have had a little backlash but it wouldn't have had the severe backlash. Why not wait until after Chew's performance and then cancel GH or OLTL and then launch another new show? They screwed up BIGTIME HERE. The only thing shocking ABC is OLTL's current performance they were not expecting it. Don't take this or Errol's post as ABC saving OLTL just yet or keeping it on the air but guys really WATCH WATCH WATCH OLTL RIGHT NOW. Keep it up right now. GL and ATWT doesn't compare here, they had no ratings increases after their cancellations. Errol would not post this info just to excite fans and let them down. It really is true as ABC and Sweeney are monitoring OLTL now and looking at it seriously. They are questioning themselves about this decision. Its not fan response or fan outcry that has triggered this its pure RATINGS that's triggering it

[marceline]

Johnnysbro, I mean this with all due respect but unless you or Errol can give some real info - a name, a company, some identifying information about who this last minute savior is - then this just seems like more well meaning attempts to "keep hope alive." If I had to choose someone to believe I'd have more reason to believe Nixon and Lucci when they say someone might pick up AMC because they've been working in the business their whole lives. I'm not saying I do believe them because I don't. But bottom line all I see is cheerleading from biased sources and no facts or information. A few months ago I remember reading here that ABC wouldn't cancel either show until after SoapNet was gone so they could see how the ratings were. Obviously that was wrong.

Sorry but I need to see/hear something verifiable from a reasonably neutral source. Not pretty words of hope from somebody with a clear agenda.

[JONNYSBRO]

U don't identify or reveal ur sources to people. I understand being skeptical. We all are skeptical. We will just see what happens. I didn't say they had decided to save oltl but they are talking about it and discussing options at this time. Fan uproar is doing nothing about abc reopening talks on oltl its numbers plain and simple. Its only thing that holds weight.

[JaySherman]

Marceline, neither Johnnysbro nor Errol can give you a source because ABC hasn't issued any statements to that effect. And ABC won't.

I don't see any agenda though. SON for the most part, in my opinion, has been an impartial site. Scotty has called out OLTL when it's been bad and hasn't been glossing over things. The board itself has much less restrictions on what can be posted vs another site you and I are familiar with

When there were rumors the show was going to be cancelled, SON and other sites reported the rumors as I recall. ABC denied it or refused to comment but we now know there was some basis. If I recall correctly, there were only whispers behind the scenes backing up those stories before.

In terms of Susan Lucci? ABC let her talk for weeks about how AMC was safe and wasn't getting cancelled. Other AMC actors also stepped up and said the rumors weren't true. Then ABC issued the cancellation announcement and made them all look like idiots, which I thought was unfair. Lucci reportedly didn't know about the cancellation until a few minutes prior and Debbi Morgan found out after she landed from a flight and turned her phone on.

As for the rumors themselves, I don't see just fan wishing. I see an actual basis - OLTL's increased viewership along with the already reported issues behind the scenes of the new shows. Since OLTL has been cutting some key players and the viewership numbers are going up, it must be helping the bottom line. While some newbies are getting dropped, the salaries of Robin Strasser and Gina T will be eliminated along with another significant leading lady that reportedly is out. I didn't include Trevor because the show is just swapping out him for Roger Howarth.

While ABC may want out of the soap business, I suspect they (even if they don't say it officially) are not going to ignore the change in OLTL's viewership. Brian Frons reality programming track record is also pretty bad as most of the shows he got on the air in the US were cancelled and had very short runs. The new programs will be under much more scrutiny because they have to fill 1 hour of programming 5 days a week and have an audience large enough to be sustainable. Frons previous projects on SoapNet etc were once a week limited run series whereas the new programs are intended from what we hear to run all year.

I also understand why Marceline and others are skeptical. Some were skeptical when the cancellation talk came out.

I agree we'll know when it happens. OLTL will either leave the air come January or we'll hear something different.

[marceline]

I disagree but I will leave it there.

Truthfully, I'm not trying to be a bitch but I'm tired of "Keep hope alive! Trust me! Santa is listening!" posts here and everywhere else. Unless somebody can point to real information about ANY of these shows (the soaps, The Chew, The Revolution, Katie Couric) then I just don't care. I don't expect SON or anybody else to out their source but then point us to an article in a trade magazine or a bit of gossip on a trade site, a blurb in Variety or the WSJ that ABC is experiencing success in the daypart. Show me something that can't be chalked up to OLTL fanboys wanting to keep their show on the air or Erica Kane fans wanting to watch her get married again.

Disney wants out of the soap business. That is backed up by the company's actions. Show me ANYTHING that says ABC might change it's mind. Anything at all. Not what they might/could/should be doing but what have they DONE? What money, time or resources have they invested in saving OLTL? Or GH? That's how you know what matters to a business: money, time, resources.

[dragonflies]

I don't agree about the move, cause it hurt the show more than it helped it. OLTL got the stability, AMC didn't.

[NYC123]

I have to agree.

Whether or not OLTL is growing, and it is, ABC just want's out. And IF the Chew fails in the first month, they will give it time and they will do the same with the Revolution.

Look Katie is getting a new show and let face it. It WILL replace GH and that is it.

ABC want's out.

[Dale]

May I ask where I can read where Errol is posting this stuff? Thanks in advance!

[OLTL_fan]

Twitter. ^^^^

[Soapsuds]

It's on his update status as well.

[MontyB]

Well, I'm stepping out on faith and hoping that the show gets a reprieve regardless of what anyone else thinks. If it truly ends in Jan 2012, so be it.

[Eric83]

Same way I feel.

I swear I agree with you on everything. LOL