JamesG
01-23-2014, 12:16 AM
"General Hospital" To Continue Next Season, Keeping Daytime’s Soap Quartet Intact
by NELLIE ANDREEVA
Wednesday January 22, 2014
Just a short two years ago, "General Hospital" was staring down the barrel of cancellation as ABC took away its long-time 3 PM slot for the pricey new Katie Couric talk show. Now "Katie" is facing a demise, set to end its rocky two-season run in May, while "General Hospital" has been thriving.
ABC does not officially renew its soaps but I have learned that, not surprisingly, "General Hospital" will continue next season. That follows the announcements by CBS and NBC over the past week that they have renewed Y&R and B&B (CBS) and "Days of Our Lives" (NBC).
This means that the entire lineup of daytime dramas will remain intact as the genre experiences a resurgence.
The reasons for the resurgence are hard to pin down. Most observers attribute the ratings growth to the fact that, after so many daytime dramas went away, soap fans are migrating to the remaining series.
However, the last daytime drama to end its run on broadcast, ABC’s "One Life To Live", did so in January 2012. And last year, Prospect Park offered new seasons of both "All My Children" and "One Life To Live", so last fall, there was actually more competition, with 6 daytime dramas, the incumbents plus resurrected AMC and OLTL, than fall 2012, making the year-to-year ratings increases even more impressive.
All broadcast soaps are readily available online, making it easier for fans to keep up with the storylines. The series’ storylines themselves also have been getting positive reaction from fans, possibly helping bring in new viewers.
But while the broadcast soaps are basking in ratings glory and celebrating renewals, the prospects for their online brethren, AMC and OLTL, continue to be grim. Both stopped production a while ago as producer Prospect Park has been embroiled in a legal battle with ABC and chances for any of them coming back appear infinitely small.
http://www.deadline.com/2014/01/general-hospital-renewed-daytime-soap-quartet-intact/
by NELLIE ANDREEVA
Wednesday January 22, 2014
Just a short two years ago, "General Hospital" was staring down the barrel of cancellation as ABC took away its long-time 3 PM slot for the pricey new Katie Couric talk show. Now "Katie" is facing a demise, set to end its rocky two-season run in May, while "General Hospital" has been thriving.
ABC does not officially renew its soaps but I have learned that, not surprisingly, "General Hospital" will continue next season. That follows the announcements by CBS and NBC over the past week that they have renewed Y&R and B&B (CBS) and "Days of Our Lives" (NBC).
This means that the entire lineup of daytime dramas will remain intact as the genre experiences a resurgence.
The reasons for the resurgence are hard to pin down. Most observers attribute the ratings growth to the fact that, after so many daytime dramas went away, soap fans are migrating to the remaining series.
However, the last daytime drama to end its run on broadcast, ABC’s "One Life To Live", did so in January 2012. And last year, Prospect Park offered new seasons of both "All My Children" and "One Life To Live", so last fall, there was actually more competition, with 6 daytime dramas, the incumbents plus resurrected AMC and OLTL, than fall 2012, making the year-to-year ratings increases even more impressive.
All broadcast soaps are readily available online, making it easier for fans to keep up with the storylines. The series’ storylines themselves also have been getting positive reaction from fans, possibly helping bring in new viewers.
But while the broadcast soaps are basking in ratings glory and celebrating renewals, the prospects for their online brethren, AMC and OLTL, continue to be grim. Both stopped production a while ago as producer Prospect Park has been embroiled in a legal battle with ABC and chances for any of them coming back appear infinitely small.
http://www.deadline.com/2014/01/general-hospital-renewed-daytime-soap-quartet-intact/