What is everyone thoughts about the future of soaps? What do you think that needs to be changed?

Mine are that they need to:

1. Move to cable. Cable is not a strict as network TV.

2. Fix the model. I suggest trimming them down to 3 days a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) from late Jan to mid Dec with a hiatus from late Dec to mid Jan (like Aussie soaps do). Doing this could save millions.

Other opinions?

What future? All are on borrowed time and the only future is Cancellationville. Its a sad truth

I know it won't happen but I'd still like to see some 15 minute soaps, with minimal sets and expense.

Old episodes on DVD and online streaming.

Old episodes on youtube and/or moving to the UK.

UK soaps are as bad as US soaps now, sadly.

I also think there could be money in "new" DVD releases, paying a limited amount of actors some money to return and film a few scenes, perhaps to help pad out a DVD release. I know a lot of people hate Nuke, but I think that would likely sell.

Daytime soaps are all but dead! I'm ready for the shoe to drop on Days and GH. GH is circling the drain as I write this. Anne Sweeney will have this show gone or die trying!

I'm good with it because there's really nothing left to write. James Reilly already covered the "I believe my mom is Satan" and the hermaphrodite sexing up his/her uncle and father. Its a wrap!

ANDREA

Daytime soaps are all but dead! I'm ready for the shoe to drop on Days and GH. GH is circling the drain as I write this. Anne Sweeney will have this show gone or die trying!

I'm good with it because there's really nothing left to write. James Reilly already covered the "I believe my mom is Satan" and the hermaphrodite sexing up his/her uncle and father. Its a wrap!

ANDREA

Yep... Soaps have the same future as newspapers, land line phones, digital cameras, and many more aka...they are pretty much good as gone!

Serialized storytelling will be around forever, but daytime soaps as we know them probably have 5 years left. I do believe there is a way to save the remaining 4 soaps, but I'm not sure if the networks and/or the fans are willing to get on board with a plan to save them.

What future? All are on borrowed time and the only future is Cancellationville. Its a sad truth

That's it in a nutshell.

Soaps need to air at night, not narrow themselves to domestic drama aimed at women 18-49, and they need to start counting people who watch online or from gadgets like an iPad or whatever. Nothing about the people who run soaps makes sense, and I recall reading that approximately 25% of DOOL viewers do not watch on NBC TV live. Why aren't they being counted? If the answer is because nielsen doesn't know how to measure them for advertisers then the answer is maybe it is time for the networks to look beyond neilsen. The actual content of the show is immaterial because all soaps over the last 15 years have followed the same pattern no matter who they are written by or who they star or what they are about.

Soaps need to air at night, not narrow themselves to domestic drama aimed at women 18-49, and they need to start counting people who watch online or from gadgets like an iPad or whatever. Nothing about the people who run soaps makes sense, and I recall reading that approximately 25% of DOOL viewers do not watch on NBC TV live. Why aren't they being counted? If the answer is because nielsen doesn't know how to measure them for advertisers then the answer is maybe it is time for the networks to look beyond neilsen. The actual content of the show is immaterial because all soaps over the last 15 years have followed the same pattern no matter who they are written by or who they star or what they are about.

These were points that I also forgot to make also. Soaps would fair well in a evening/night market. If soaps came on from 5 PM to 7 PM, when most people get off work, they would fair well (IMO). I think that the ratings being counted on other electronic gadgets (as you stated) is a problem with Nielsen. I've said for the longest that they need to fix their system b/c it is REALLY outdated.

These were points that I also forgot to make also. Soaps would fair well in a evening/night market. If soaps came on from 5 PM to 7 PM, when most people get off work, they would fair well (IMO). I think that the ratings being counted on other electronic gadgets (as you stated) is a problem with Nielsen. I've said for the longest that they need to fix their system b/c it is REALLY outdated.

Who's going to air that? That timeslot is generally resolved from the evening news in local affiliates across the country and you better beleive those arent getting bumped off to air a dying genre , nor should they

There just aren't enough soaps left or life left in those soaps for me to give a f-ck. I'm just gonna watch what I enjoy and wait for them to be canceled. I'm over it.

Um these soaps would not fair well in the evening. If the people sitting at home during the day don't want to watch then why would they want to watch at night. It's not like there arent plenty of people at home in this economy where in many houses only one person is out working in a household. People would watch if there were stories worth watching. When you have bad stories where the mediocre acting is very noticeable, people aren't gonig to watch. These outdated writings keep falling back on the same tired cliches in stories we have seen with some characters several times before.