'General Hospital' Is On Life Support At ABC - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Damage · 10-27-2011, 04:38 PM

Disney/ABC announced Oct. 24 that it has already cleared Katie Couric's syndicated Katie to air in more than 60 percent of U.S. homes when it bows in fall 2012, fueling speculation about the future of the soap that has aired at 3 p.m. in most markets since 1963.

ABC, which in September drew the ire of soap fans by replacing the long-running All My Children with the foodie chat show The Chew and jettisoning One Life to Live to the web, likely won't decide the fate of its last remaining soap until the spring. But General Hospital clearly is under the microscope. The soap will "compete based on ratings and costs" with other offerings, says a network rep.

Chew is off to a mediocre start, luring 1.9 million total viewers daily in its third week -- well below the 2.4 million that All My Children drew a year ago. But Chew, as well as The Revolution, a lifestyle strip that will launch in January, costs much less to produce than a soap. And while GH still averages 2.43 million viewers, that's down from 2.47 million last year and off 20 percent this season among females 18-to-49.

"There's no extra reward based on how passionate people are about a show, especially when it might not be the right audience," says Sam Ford, an academic and co-editor of the book The Survival of Soap Opera.

Sources say Katie is generating lower syndication fees than Disney had hoped but still will pull in more than $10,000 a week in such markets as Atlanta, Detroit and Dallas. Disney-owned stations in big markets will each pony up nearly $50,000 a week, helping to produce about $60 million annually and giving networks strong incentives to air the show in plum time slots -- just like the one that GH occupies.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...tal-abc-254221

catlover79 · 10-27-2011, 04:55 PM

Way to go, Fronsie!!!

MrCleveland · 10-27-2011, 08:52 PM

My question is this...

Has The Soap Opera became a dead genre?

Schmoopie · 10-31-2011, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrCleveland

My question is this...

Has The Soap Opera became a dead genre?

Sadly it's looking that way. I'm sure that GH will be gone before long and it's a shame because I have such fond memories of this show. It was the first one I ever really watched and probably the one I watched for the longest stretch at a time.

Brian Damage · 11-05-2011, 11:34 AM

And so it begins. ABC's risky move to cede back an hour of programming time a day to affiliates, in exchange for TV stations agreeing to air Katie Couric's next attempt at proving post-Today Show relevance, is starting to cripple the viability of the network's final soap opera General Hospital. Since Katie will air in Orlando on WESH-Channel 2, Orlando's WFTV-Channel 9 plans to give GH's timelot to Steve Harvey's planned talk show in the fall of 2012, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

http://daytimeconfidential.zap2it.com/

Steve M. · 11-05-2011, 09:30 PM

Soaps are dead. Deal with it.

10-27-2011, 04:38 PM	#1
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	'General Hospital' Is On Life Support At ABC Disney/ABC announced Oct. 24 that it has already cleared Katie Couric's syndicated Katie to air in more than 60 percent of U.S. homes when it bows in fall 2012, fueling speculation about the future of the soap that has aired at 3 p.m. in most markets since 1963. ABC, which in September drew the ire of soap fans by replacing the long-running All My Children with the foodie chat show The Chew and jettisoning One Life to Live to the web, likely won't decide the fate of its last remaining soap until the spring. But General Hospital clearly is under the microscope. The soap will "compete based on ratings and costs" with other offerings, says a network rep. Chew is off to a mediocre start, luring 1.9 million total viewers daily in its third week -- well below the 2.4 million that All My Children drew a year ago. But Chew, as well as The Revolution, a lifestyle strip that will launch in January, costs much less to produce than a soap. And while GH still averages 2.43 million viewers, that's down from 2.47 million last year and off 20 percent this season among females 18-to-49. "There's no extra reward based on how passionate people are about a show, especially when it might not be the right audience," says Sam Ford, an academic and co-editor of the book The Survival of Soap Opera. Sources say Katie is generating lower syndication fees than Disney had hoped but still will pull in more than $10,000 a week in such markets as Atlanta, Detroit and Dallas. Disney-owned stations in big markets will each pony up nearly $50,000 a week, helping to produce about $60 million annually and giving networks strong incentives to air the show in plum time slots -- just like the one that GH occupies. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...tal-abc-254221
	__________________ The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven: John 3:3 *Money Doesn't Buy Happiness...But I'd Rather Cry in My Private Jet*

10-27-2011, 04:55 PM	#2
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	Way to go, Fronsie!!!
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

10-27-2011, 08:52 PM	#3
MrCleveland Drew Carey from Hell Forum Star Join Date: Nov 10, 2007 Location: The City of Cleveland, in The State of Cleveland, in The United States of Cleveland Posts: 14,224	My question is this... Has The Soap Opera became a dead genre?
	__________________ Thank God for kids that love Obscure Things. Lee Hazlewood (1929-2007) You ARE Special to God! Rev. Ernest Angely (August 1921-May 2021)

11-05-2011, 11:34 AM	#5
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,107	Major Orlando ABC Affiliate to Give General Hospital Timeslot to Steve Harvey! And so it begins. ABC's risky move to cede back an hour of programming time a day to affiliates, in exchange for TV stations agreeing to air Katie Couric's next attempt at proving post-Today Show relevance, is starting to cripple the viability of the network's final soap opera General Hospital. Since Katie will air in Orlando on WESH-Channel 2, Orlando's WFTV-Channel 9 plans to give GH's timelot to Steve Harvey's planned talk show in the fall of 2012, according to the Orlando Sentinel. http://daytimeconfidential.zap2it.com/

11-05-2011, 09:30 PM	#6
Steve M. Back on the road to reality Forum Superstar Join Date: Nov 07, 2003 Location: New Jersey Posts: 33,307	Soaps are dead. Deal with it.
	__________________ I don't really get out a lot. When I do go out, I couldn't be happier. I love being in a nice milieu. I'm as happy as a clam. Just as long as I'm not in some club playing hip-hop. You hear that sort of thing in a lot of places. That's not my milieu. Rock and roll is good-time music. I love rock. So did my parents.