AMC and OLTL Will Move Online!

[Adam]

I loved Gloria Marsh too!

So I can't keep up with this thread.... do we have any more concrete details beyond its confirmed they are moving online? (sans Debbi Morgan)

[DeliaIrisFan]

I don't know how big the question of whether current viewers will watch online is, because a part of me thinks that these shows' best hope of building an audience in this new format might be to draw back in viewers who have NOT watched the last 10-15 years of network soaps. I have a number of friends - most older than me, so it's not even a generational thing - who don't own TVs but have childhood nostalgia of various types of shows and watch quite a bit of TV-related content via Netflix and YouTube. I think maybe someone who watched the ABC lineup as a teen in the 80s or 90s and lost touch might have more goodwill and be more receptive to what these shows may still have to offer than someone who has been there to see what has become of them in recent years. And, maybe lapsed viewers would be a better source of word of mouth and buzz if they like what they see, than those of us who've kept watching for all of these years... At this point, how many times have current viewers wanted to believe that these shows were back on track and to be able to recommend them to friends, only to be disappointed soon enough? As for those who have been satisfied with what soaps have been offering up lately and their friends who would take their viewing advice, clearly that's not a large enough pool to make these shows workable. If there were a convenient way for decades-lapsed viewers to reconnect with their old soaps in a new media, and they were drawn in by a combination of the new and old, then at this point that might be the best use of the brand. I know it's a stretch to think you could get a lot of those viewers back, but who knows?

As for the writers/other behind the scenes folks, I think it's safe to assume that if this model takes off, it will be largely a new crop, for better or worse. Most veteran soap writers - good or bad - have to be near retirement, and for various reasons, the industry has not done a good job of nurturing new talent. It may have been most expedient in recent years to throw multi-million dollar contracts at an aging pool of writers who have mastered the mechanics (if nothing else, in some cases) of a very specific format, but to learn a new (as yet untested) genre all on their own? Carlivati is probably the most likely head writer to transition if this experiment continues, and I hardly think that would be the end of the world. We've not seen what he's capable of outside of an environment of increasing network micromanagement that has ultimately proven toxic to any writer's work who lasts long enough. I still think he showed promise when he took over at OLTL, and I don't believe the overarching factors that made me tune out long ago were his doing. He can't be any worse than someone like James Lipton, who was a fixture of TV soaps pretty much from the beginning and for decades afterward. If there are others who are talented and free to utilize their talents, then hopefully the best would be rewarded for their success.

As for the business model, I don't understand how the AMC (the network, not All My Children) original series turn a profit. But they do, and thankfully so because it's some of the best material on TV, and they spend a lot more money than even network soaps do now. The rules of what determines success may change in a new medium, and it could be that those rules for network soaps have been made up as they went along until now, in order to justify what executives were planning to do in the first place.

Anyway, I'm very late to the party, but I am more (cautiously) optimistic about this news than anything that's happened with soaps in this century. I know it's a huge long shot that it will work, but as others have said, what's left to lose at this point?

[DRW50]

I do think they should try to bring in those who used to watch soaps. That's why I wish they'd bring some vets in for the websoap, and just have them sharing scenes with younger characters for the "youth" demo.

[SFK]

@DeliaIrisFan&Carl, I think some schmaltzy Remember When You Used to Visit Pine Valley? promos could be an effective advertising method in addition to the predictable young and steamy teasers. Especially if they appeal to the early '80s college kids era with then and now shots of Tad, Jesse, Angie, Greg and ghostly Jenny ("Wait, Jenny's back??"), "Faces you'll remember, faces you could never forget" (Erica), "Some are now gone" (slow-mo Phoebe and Langley, Myrtle, Palmer...) "but their legacies live on" (newbies). Something that would make a former viewer say, "Oh my God , I'm gonna hafta get (child/grandchild) to set me up on this computer so I can see this..."

That one possible advertising angle of almost selling the show like a reunion so old fans don't feel like they've missed out might be sort of enticing. Kind of like a Knots reunion or something.

[DeeeDee]

Pretty much.

[marceline]

And that is the REAL problem with Fronsian airhogs. The airhog part. It doesn't matter how much you like or hate Ryan, Zach, John, "Todd", Sonny or Jason and/or the actors who play them. It's the overkill that does the damage. They're on all the time, everywhere and shoved down the viewers throats. It damages the characters, undermines the show and makes the actors the targets of serious hate. For example, I really find CamMat very likeable and yet my first reaction upon seeing him is the fervent desire to hit him in the face with a shovel. Hard. Over and over again.

Overkill.

[alexisfan07]

Not sure if these were posted...

Michael Easton (on Facebook)

"STUNNING NEWS...

A victory for all of the loyal fans who worked tirelessly to save "One Life To Live" and "All My Children". Against all odds you achieved something extraordinary. Your turn to take a bow. We applaud you... "

"STUNNING NEWS PART 2

So many questions. I wish I had the answers for you. We learned of this as you did & at this time I know as much as you do (you probably know more than I do, so you can fill me in anytime). Not sure what all this means & with the Studio dark this week we won't know much until next week & beyond. Again a wonderful gesture by everyone who campaigned to save the shows. Have a great weekend."

[KMan101]

Michael seems like such a nice guy. And LOL at him figuring we know more than they do. The actors really are kept SO in the dark!

Glad to see more fan reactions. And what else can they say? They don't know anything and none have been approached to continue on yet, so we aren't going to get anything for, at the MOST, another week or so. But probably for a lot longer.

[dragonflies]

http://www.welovesoa...11july2011.html

Glad to see an actor who isn't just saying what people want to hear........

Walt Willey in the dark about ALL MY CHILDREN pickup

"You know as much as I do," Willey told The Times. "Everyone I've spoken to, in terms of actors, not a soul has been contacted."

Willey believes few ALL MY CHILDREN fans are Internet-savvy, and is skeptical about how some might be able to see new episodes.

"It's an interesting choice. The fans have worked very hard on our behalf, but this could be a hollow victory for them," he said.

[quartermainefan]

It's 2011. My 75 year old father is on facebook, viewers can learn how to go to full screen on a computer.

[NYC123]

I didn't expect the Crew or the Cast to know. ABC wasn't sure if PP would get the government fund so they didn't want to tell them.

[dragonflies]

My dad is too and he's 65 but he's into computer's. My grandma who watched soaps most of her life, if she was alive sure wouldn't know her way around a computer and would have no interest in doing so, this isolates some older viewers unless someone wants to take the time to teach them how to get on the internet

[NYC123]

I think many people are not realizing technology is evolving. TV will move online. People just watch things live anymore or on TV.

[Soapsuds]

Oh silly willey....We are internet savvy.

He doesnt sound so excited about it with his its an interesting choice comment. I dont blame him though. I think he was hoping another network or cable outlet would pick the show up.

[Soapsuds]

By Walt's reaction it seems like he feels its a step downward. He just doesnt seem too excited about it. He might be one who doesnt go the online route. I'm actually glad about his honesty.