ABC hopes 'The Chew' can win over daytime viewers

[EricMontreal22]

To be fair, I had no idea you were a P&G fan lol, so...

Of course I'm not as objective as I'd like to think I am, but I have to say everyone I know who has seen those promos for The Chew has commented on how cheap and awful it looks--and 90% of these people aren't soap watchers.

[EricMontreal22]

From The Chew's EP, more of the same... The Chew's executive producer Gordon Elliott provided these wise observations about viewing habits in 2011:

"People don't have time to sit for an hour and watch a story. ABC came to me and said we've had great success with 'The View' but we'd like to get into food. I thought 'The View,' food, 'The Chew.' We do more than just chop and chat. Our co-hosts are relatable."

[DRW50]

If people don't have time for a story then why would they make time for what amounts to warmed-over filler they can find anywhere?

[JaneAusten]

I don't know. Because you don't have to devote an hour a day because like a procedural drama you don't have to commit to watching every episode. Same as any talk show or show that is a one off. I honestly have no clue WTF this guy means but more than likely he's just repeating something Frons told him.

[DRW50]

You don't have to devote an hour a day to a soap either. You can DVR and skip what you don't want to see. You can just watch part and then leave.

They are going on about how this is so much more than just "chop and chat" - which undercuts his point that this is filler you can easily watch.

The more they go down the "no one has time/people are stupid/this is cheap" the more they justify the idea of not having any programming in daytime at all, aside from reruns.

[EricMontreal22]

Right and by design soaps are made for somewhat casual viewing--you can usually do other things (ie "womanly" chores ) while watching, and the endless dialogue recap (which I kinda think in the days of DVRs, etc, should be minimised anyway...)

[JaneAusten]

You know what its funny you say that because my grandmother I remember said the opposite. She used to religiously listen to the soaps when they were on the radio, and she said it allowed her to continue going about her daily routine. Once they moved to TV she said she started watching but tuned out after a while because she felt she had to sit and watch and in her words "wasting time". But then she feels all of TV is a waste of time.

[EricMontreal22]

That was a big reason why back in the 50s many said TV soaps would never work--but I think they were smart in that they kept it, mainly, more of an aural thing. Yes, more and more (especially post Monty's GH), you see visual clues and elements, but for the most part it's still largely about what's said, not the action. Which I know is one reason people say that soaps are a more "feminine" medium than much tv--dialogue over action. It also makes it more theatrical, something I like. You don't have the budget or opportunity to SHOW a lot of stuff, so it has to be conveyed through dialogue.

[All My Shadows]

Go ahead. Keep making comments like this, people. This is why I'll be LAUGHING MY MOTHER EFFING ASS OFF when that food program gets a smaller audience than AMC. I want this to go on the record when people remind me that the food program gets a bigger profit. I know that. I understand that. But look at what this man is saying. He's all but implying that more people will tune into this show than AMC.

If he were to go the "It's cheaper to make this than it is to make the soaps," then it'd be all right. But he's writing checks Carla Hall's ass won't cash.

[chyti]

No problem. Stop beating your head against the wall, people are going to think whatever they think.

It is just funny that so many on here are calling "The Chew" cheap and wondering just who will be watching that crap when probably and I might be wrong but just going by the numbers 90% of the tv viewing audience probably thinks the same thing about soaps. Most people I know think soaps in general are cheap, chessy and are amazed that they are still on, not that it makes any difference about "The Chew" it is what it is but all this talk acting as if soaps are some high style piece of work is a bit much for a lot of people they are on the same level. This is directed at you personally Eric just yours was the last of many comments on the look of the show.

[Eric83]

I can't wait to see these ratings.

[OLTL_fan]

This guy seriously needs to STFU.

[All My Shadows]

For me, it's much less about soaps being some kind of "high style piece of work" than it is about how people who keep telling us that more people will watch this new show when that most likely won't be the case. 90% of the TV audience doesn't care about soaps, but 95% won't care about this show, and it still infuriates me when I see numbers for The Talk spun around to tell a "See? More people are interested in The Talk than were interested in that old soap" story when that's just not the case. I'm pretty sure ABC knows the same tricks, and I'll eat crow if I'm wrong, but I don't think I am.

[chyti]

I'm thinking along this route also that most people don't want to commit themselves to a show that is on all year, five days a week it is a lot to get into, I know a lot of family and friends who watch novelas say that the main problem they have with American soaps are that they never end.

For me shows like this interest me because I can watch them whenever and don't have to even know the name of the host, what happened yesterday or even tune in tomorrow. I am the epitome of the casual viewer even the shows that I love I barely watch, I start a lot of shows and end of leaving mid season only to return for the final episode. Soaps and I say this as someone who actually does enjoy watching is not for the casual viewer, as a casual viewer type I do not dvr to watch later, and if I have to fastforward parts of the show then I might as well not watch at all.

The whole point of being a casual viewer is watching a show here and then with no ties to it at all.

[chyti]

I doubt more people are going to watch this show, I doubt this show will be a hit but it won't be because the soaps were a better product. Most people when the show they were watching rarely just continue watching whatever comes on, they will find something else to do.

I think with the talk and ATWT, some viewers stayed and some just changed to another soap (OLTL) if that is what their viewing habits dictate and other found something else to do. The Talk is not a failure like any new show it needs to build its audience, the ratings are holding steady. The tv viewing is so fractured that it is hard to tell what people are interested in, there seems to be just about something for everyone on now-a-days. I never thougt a show about abandoned storage units will be a hit, or that I would actually like watching a show about cake decorating so you never know.

To be honest tv works just like every other fad out there and food type shows are working for the most part right now.