BTG: History, Behind the Scenes Articles & Photos

[skiman12082004]

Here in San Diego GH and Y&R go head to head at 1pm. B&B is on at 12:30pm and BTG will air at 2pm.

Currently, I'm watching all four soaps but when BTG starts I don't think I'll be able to watch all five. The decision now is which one(s) to drop.

[ReddFoxx]

In Los Angeles General Hospital is on at 2 pm so it will be up against Beyond The Gates, but I don't think it will necessarily be a competition because at this point a new soap is going to help the others just by boosting the genre. Those actors from the other shows showing enthusiasm know that the publicity of "soap operas are still alive" is good for the genre as a whole. When you're in a genre that has declined you can't afford to compete because competition isn't really a factor like it was 30-40 years ago.

[Liberty City]

I am not going to be watching GH live; my attention is purely on BTG now.

[Vee]

Nothing about the show looks cheap to me. The lighting is pretty strong at times, but that may be a thing of early production/untreated shots. I have no issue with the sets.

The fact is that no soap is perfect out of the gate and there are always hiccups, changes and adjustments. Historically they've usually needed a year or two (or five) to bed in and find an audience. BTG may or may not get a huge amount of grace time, but I am sure CBS/P&G and Val Jean are aware of the historical trends. And sure, GH will be tough competition simply due to brand loyalty. But you don't make this kind of investment to roll it up in 6-12 months (particularly with the added prestige/pressure of the NAACP, which puts a certain obligation on the network) unless it's some kind of staggering failure. That's not at the front of my mind.

Edited February 13 by Vee

[Paul Raven]

Yes, surely all parties involved would be realistic about the show needing to settle in, what sort of numbers/demos they need in broadcast and streaming and what sort of profit margin they can operate at.

I guess improving on The Talk would be the first goal.

 

[Chris B]

With a soap it's a marathon not a sprint. As Vee said, it takes time for a soap to find it's footing and one of the good things about the soap format is that they'll have time to fix things as they go. It's not a Days situation where they're going to debut with 6-8 months in the can with little chance to fix it. They have time to address things that aren't working and fix them.

Another thing, I'm sure they have other surprises in store for us to keep the conversation going overtime. Not only storylines, but pretty much every soap has brought on a key character after the show debuts. We have no idea what hidden weapons they have in store to maintain and build interest once the show is on the air.

[BoldRestless]

Here's to the next Katherine Chancellor or Sally Spectra!

[Chris B]

Those are excellent examples! I've seen the first few years of B&B and it wasn't bad, but boy did Sally give them a huge jolt of energy. With Y&R, I'd love to one day see their early years, but I find it pretty interesting that neither Katherine nor Lorie were there at the beginning and both ended up being such important characters during that era of the show. I'd love to be able to watch it to see how the show was prior to their arrivals.

[Vee]

I didn't know Lorie wasn't there at the beginning.

When did Katherine arrive? I thought it was the first year or shortly after.

[Paul Raven]

Lorie came back for Thanksgiving I think. Either that or Xmas.

Katherine /Kay debuted in Jan 74 as a client at the salon where Jill worked.

[Errol]

When you saw "used to," do you mean pre-September 2012? I ask because ABC moved GH from its regular slot to the OLTL slot. Only the ABC Owned Stations moved it back to its regular slot a few years later. If your GH is at 1:00, and it was the OLTL slot, that's why.

[Liberty City]

I know GH moved to 2pm here and never moved back when other regions returned it to its original 3pm time slot following the end of Katie, I believe it was?

[Errol]

Right. GH was moved to 2:00 p.m. nationally, taking over the slot previously held by OLTL because ABC stupidly gave back GH's regular time slot to entice stations to pick up Katie. Since Katie failed and the 4:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT local news became a standard, ABC moved GH back to its original slot on 7 of its 8 Owned stations. Only one other non-ABC-owned station followed the network's changes and did the same.

Again, if the 2:00 p.m. slot was where OLTL aired in your area, GH is airing in that slot and has ever since. Only the ABC Owned stations (7 of 8), moved the show back to its original slot. If that was 3:00 p.m. like on WABC, that's why it moved back. If OLTL was on at 1:00 p.m. in your area, GH took over that slot in 2012. If it got moved to 2:00 p.m., and that was GH's regular slot, your station is either owned by ABC or your affiliate is the non-ABC Owned station that opted to follow suit with ABC Owned Stations.

[Contessa Donatella]

I never knew that.

[Errol]

For reference: https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2014/08/gh-time-slot-switch-7-abc-owned-operated-stations-returning-soap-original-time

Seven of the eight ABC Owned and Operated (O&O) television stations will be returning “General Hospital” back to its 3:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT slot beginning Monday, September 8, the network confirmed today. Those stations include WABC in New York, KABC in Los Angeles, WLS in Chicago, WPVI in Philadelphia, KGO in San Francisco, KTRK in Houston, WTVD in Raleigh-Durham and KSAT in San Antonio, which is the sole non-ABC O&O station making the change.