BTG: History, Behind the Scenes Articles & Photos

[vanguard]

If I didn't know any better I would've thought that this was some kind of a viewer's hoax. Clearly I thought the daytime soap genre was dying slowly but surely, and now I hear this news. Sounds like Generations 2.0 by the way.

[Faulkner]

B&B’s international success doesn’t necessarily help CBS, although the show isn’t reliant on that license fee alone like so many “client-owned soaps,” as the dreaded Les Moonves once put it.

The show feels cheap to me on the day-to-day, and the cast is tiny even by its half-hour standards, so obviously they are feeling some crunch. Granted, Brad could attempt to move his show exclusively to a streaming service if CBS canceled it.

I would not cry if B&B (or any of the legacy series) got axed. I’ve already grieved Y&R’s loss even though it’s still airing, feel no connection to whatever DAYS has evolved into over the past 25 years, and while I’m hopeful that Patrick Mulcahey can make a positive impact at GH, I’m not exactly betting on it.

I just hope this news might light a fire under Bradley Bell’s ass, but, knowing him, he’ll receive the *wrong* lesson from it, leaning into more nonsensical stunts for ratings instead of aiming for higher-quality, long-term storytelling and allowing an actual writer to take the creative reins.

Edited March 8, 2024 by Faulkner

[Maxim]

Gosh, let's not talk about soaps getting axed for 1 moment... please... I mean... can't we celebrate without the dread and the negativity coming in every topic.

[Slutty Shauna Fan]

Are you counting only American ones or international as well?

I think it's pretty obvious Bold is in jeopardy.

1) It's a half hour soap, which means less money from advertisers to CBS

2) It isn't owned by CBS. Why keep negotiating a license fee on a diminishing product where you don't see a bulk profit?

3) It was only granted an extra season option in their recent contract renewal rather than a lengthy multi year renewal. It seems like it was only done to buy CBS some thinking time, no doubt due to the news.

4) Unfortunately just because it does well internationally (or did well according to some posters in European countries) doesn't mean anything to CBS if they don't see any money coming in from said deals. Unless you get what the Australian soaps get, another country funding or co funding production costs then the international market is rather irrelevant.

Given that ABC owns General Hospital outright, I'm betting GH will be the last one standing. 

[BoldRestless]

I can't see them axing B&B for this. Whatever you want to say about B&B, it's a known entity. They know what to expect in terms of the ratings and the budget and streaming. It's consistent. A new soap hasn't been launched since 1999, and a successful new soap hasn't launched since... B&B itself in 1987. And that was largely off the power of Bill Bell and Y&R, and it still took several years to establish itself. I wish The Gates all the success, but going by history, it's not going to start with strong ratings. It's going to be start off lower than B&B's current ratings, I'm pretty sure, and it might even get cancelled, and then they will have cancelled B&B for nothing. That doesn't make sense for a network that is investing in soaps.

 

What I could see happening is splitting up Y&R and B&B to give The Gates a stronger lead in, which will hurt B&B initially, on the premise that if The Gates doesn't work out, they can shift B&B back to its old slot. 

 

I am also wondering to what extent they will try to use crossovers to give the new show a boost. If the show is about a rich family, they could say they have business dealings with Victor Newman or the Forresters, just to get people to sample the show, or do a crossover with the African-American characters involved with Chancellor-Winters. It wouldn't be unprecedented. It was rare for the CBS P&G and Bell shows to cross-over, but Michael Baldwin did it. I would rather that The Gates start out as its own thing with its own stories, but I could see them doing a crossover 6 months to a year in if the ratings are lagging.

[Maxim]

We'll talk in 5 years. Trust me. I know. But I really don't want to go off-topic here. There are plenty of Bold topics.

[dragonflies]

Nah he'll skate like always till it's close to time for the new soap to premiere then suddenly he'll pull out all the stops for a month or so then go back to being lazy

[BetterForgotten]

That's the major thing - no other country can afford to pay the same licensing fee CBS is paying for it, streaming may be a possibility, but not really a guarantee. International revenue is just a cherry on top of the cake - this is an American production produced for an American network and an American audience first and foremost. 

It IS the CBS licensing fee that keeps B&B on the air, make no mistake about that - international airings and revenue are just gravy for the Bell's. CBS does not make a penny off B&B's international distribution - they have no ownership in the show and they/Paramount do not distribute it internationally. 

Also, again, B&B's global footprint is not as strong as it used to be or what the Bell's want you to believe. It's really not a valid argument for B&B's survival, IMO. 

 

Edited March 8, 2024 by BetterForgotten

[dragonflies]

I wonder if Bell would pay the licensing fee himself if it came down to it, I mean he is fairly well off money wise

[GLATWT88]

If you asked me back when Passions, GL, and ATWT were canceled, shortly followed by the end of AMC and OLTL, whether soaps would still be on the air in 2024, I would have told you no. I didn't see any of the soaps surviving another decade. To hear that there is a tradional format soap being put forth in 2024 is amazing news for us soap fans albeit very shocking and kind of scary. 

[Pedro]

Yes, they will outlive us all , I did not conceive the idea of Bold ending, and I do not believe it will happen. 

[Khan]

Personally, I think CBSD would cancel "The Talk" or "Let's Make a Deal" before they'd cancel either B&B or Y&R.

[te.]

Well, The Talk at the very least. It's worth remembering that they brought Jerry O'Connell on as an attempt to differentiate it from other women talk shows and to boost ratings and it's still at the bottom. I don't see it surviving before B&B (plus, as others pointed out if The Gates does bomb it leaves them in a worse position without B&B to fall back on).

[BetterForgotten]

Alternatively, if The Gates does bomb, CBS could very well just say, “See, we tried, but this genre and the economics just aren’t viable anymore.” Then proceed to cancel B&B anyway.  Then we’re back to where we are now and just waiting for another revolution in the genre to take place. 

So much is riding on this project to succeed, I really hope it does. 

[Maxim]

I don't believe CBS will cancel Bold with or without The Gates.

I also don't think it will bomb, since I think the public is hungry for a project like The Gates. But for now it's only my gut telling me this. I will now more in the future to make my prognosis.

That's just my opinion.