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While inside Avery Fisher Hall the ABC brass were touting the network’s new primetime schedule, outside, fans of All My Children and One Life to Live protested the network’s new daytime lineup, which will soon have reality series The Chew and The Revolution replace the two daytime dramas. “Save our soaps,” demonstrators chanted as advertisers were filing into the Lincoln Center, although the group of a couple of dozen was far across the street, so some upfront guests confused that with “Save our shows.” (ABC recently canceled several primetime series, including Brothers and Sisters & V, so that would work, too). The brochures distributed by the protest’s organizer, SoapFansUnited.com, urged advertisers to boycott ABC and called the programs replacing the two soaps “glorified infomercials appropriate for late-night basic cable channels, not for a major broadcast network.”
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Thanks to the 50 plus people that went to the RALLY in NYC Great Job and thanks to the actors, writers, and media for coming out in the rain to support. Thanks from the millions of soap fans that couldnt be there. WE have a voice and the advirtisers heard you.
People need to realize that there were thousands of people behind those that attended that rally.
and PS if sports were suddenly canned people might understand. Soaps are awesome. I’m sick of people crapping on them.
I live in NYC and worked on a soap at one time, it gave me health insurance and helped me stay afloat. Any loss of work is always a sad thing.
To the sarcastic people who posted about the number of people who showed up at the rally. YOu have no idea who is working behind the scenes. YOu have no idea about the hundreds and hundreds of people working by emailing and calling CEO’s of the advertising companies to tell them we want our shows to remain on the air . You have no idea about how frustrated the secretaries are at all of these companies and ABC and Disney as we continue to call and call and call and email and email them. This is not even just about the soaps for me. It is about all of the shows ABC is putting out there. It is all garbage and I am tired of watching it. They are cancelling quality shows even at night time and replacing them with more reality television. So stop with the sarcasm and realize the bigger picture.
Right on, Kate! There are thousands of us out here working behind the scenes.
I am proud of the supporters that were able to show up at the protest. They represent all of us that couldn’t go the same way that the Nielsen ratings represent America.
Also for those that only have negative comments to say about it, all I can say is I’m sorry that you feel that way about this genre and were never able to give it a chance.
For those of you that feel its a waste of time, remember that the next time you’re favorite genre is on the brink of dying out because of lack of support.
Kat wrote: For those of you that feel its a waste of time, remember that the next time you’re favorite genre is on the brink of dying out because of lack of support.
It’s not the genre that is dying out; there are plenty of dramas still on television…CSI, THE GOOD WIFE, MAD MEN. It’s the format that is dying out. People simply don’t have time to commit 5 hours a week to a show with massively repetitive, insipid story lines. Why should I invest 5 hours a week for storylines about people returning from the dead for the 8th time or dying and going to Eterna, or freezing entire cities, or love triangles that go on for 10 or 15 years, when I can watch excellent acting and compelling stories on MAD MEN and it only costs me 13 hours out of each year?
And when MAD MEN eventually is cancelled or cancels itself, I’ll be sad, but I won’t send martinis in the mail to the execs at AMC. You people need to get over yourselves; these shows, nor television in general, is worth this amount of consternation and empty threats.
No other show will ever have the loyalty that a soap viewer brings to their show. I watch One Life to Live every day on Soap Net or DVR. It is my only non-miss TV watching everything else is sporadic.
Get over it, already. Television broadcasting is all about making money. Soaps haven’t been making money for years. More women work outside the home than at any other time in history. Younger women aren’t as interested in committing to daytime serials as they are in occasionally watching talk/gossip shows. No profit, no show. Just can’t wait for the uproar in a few years when the remaining four are canceled.
If soaps and soap fans are so irrelevant, why was ABC so busy checking out our permits at NYPD.
Oh God. You all really are delusional, aren’t you?
The women on this board complaining about losing their soap operas are setting feminism back 60 years. It’s disgraceful. I’d expect this type of behavior from Peggy Bundy, but no supposedly educated, literate, career-minded, modern women.
I guess you didn’t notice all the MEN out their protesting too?
BTW,thousands of women wanted to be there but could not BECAUSE they are WORKING WOMEN!
They watch their soaps in the evenings and weekends…in a manner that goes uncounted by the Neilson’s.
ghhshirley wrote: I guess you didn’t notice all the MEN out their protesting too?
I guess you didn’t notice that I wasn’t referring to the people in the protest when I said: “The women on this board complaining about losing their soap operas are setting feminism back 60 years.”
And, quite frankly, there were so few people out there protesting against these cancellations that it doesn’t matter if they were man or woman. At best, the most people people out there at any one time was about 50; that’s not a protest, that’s a minor traffic nuisance.
And even if, for arguments sake, the Nielsens are missing some viewers, so what? The people that they *ARE* monitoring have left these shows in droves for 10-15 years now. If AMC was getting a 5.0 rating in 2000, and now only gets a 2.0, where did those 3 million people go? Don’t tell me that in this economy they suddenly all got jobs.
Gravity…WHY are you here? Don’t you have something better to do than bash people?
Brava, Jenny33!!! You tell ‘em!!!!
soap opera fans- just come to telemundo or univision- you have a choice of soaps with different themes all to fit your taste.
Gee,now in the NYC market we will have news,crappy talk shows,even crappier reality shows, then MORE news at 4 pm.
I’m heading back to HGTV………
Hundreds and hundreds of viewers are worthless. These demonstrations are dated and childish. This is not support; this is an illusion of strength. It’s over. Grow up and move on. We will do the same when our genres fade. We are adults and it’s just television.
Since when did standing up and fighting for something (whether you agree or not) become “childish”? When either these shows are picked up by another network or are gone for good – Then we will move on. “Growing up” has nothing to do with it.
haven’t you heard if you can say anything nice don’t say anything at all?? – I don’t understand why the negativity from people who apparently think they have a right to tell people how they should feel or what they should watch .. really ?? how about you go get a life and stop worrying about how I spend my time .. What I do and what I watch should have no bearing on you.. so keep your thoughts and judgements to yourself… I will not defend watching SOAPS ..nor should I have too.. #SOS
I think it’s really funny how uptight these women are these days. Just because you don’t take time to relax and enjoy dramatic television shows doesn’t mean all of us should be like you. I’m a 21 year old woman and I love One Live to Live and will not stop until I see these shows continue. A lot of shows are still on the air that shouldn’t be like One Tree Hill, House, CSI, Law & Order, and all of those shows who are running out of storylines as well but I don’t see them cancelling anytime soon for stupid talk shows and food shows, like we don’t have enough of that already. Speaking for the future generation, I would definitely like to see All My Children, One Live to Live, General Hospital, Young & The Restless, etc. still on the air. I believe that this genre is an amazing one. The writers don’t shy away from outlandish storylines that create such madness and excitement unlike many other similar shows that are on television today. I’m so tired of seeing the same old same old everyday. I get excited to watch One Live to Live everyday because it’s something to look forward to. So to all of you uptight snobby woman who can’t stand to sit in front of the television for one second, screw you! It is people like me who will save these shows! & To all of you who are standing behind all of these amazing actors, directors, writers, etc., THANK YOU! I pray that this works out to our advantage!
The shows that are replacing the two soaps sound horrid.
I find it great that they are out there letting ABC know
what they think about ABC day programing…
I DVR Young and Restless and find the soaps have the hardest working actors around..I just bought a Hover Vaccumm because I needed one and they supported keeping the soaps on.
If feminism means watching the boring OWN network forget it
I will stick with “Young and Restless”.
I love the comment from one of these ‘soap fans’ that if you think soaps are outdated it means that you must be watching reality TV. Um, no some of us do not have a TV on 24/7 and if you checked it out, you would find there are a lot of quality programs on PBS or the History Channel. It figures these dopes would think reality TV is the only alternative. The longer this goes on, the more pathetic this bunch looks. They talk as though they are fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment or something. No wonder this is becoming the dumbest country in the world. Soaps and Reality TV are both drivel. ‘You have no idea how many people are working behind the scenes’ , no I don’t and believe me, there is no one among that bunch I would want to meet. Imagine wasting such a huge amount of time to save television shows. It is too bad they can’t get off their lame rears to do something useful. Do they really think anyone outside of them is taking them seriously?
Then WHY are you reading this article or these posts?? Why don’t YOU get off your lame rear end and do something useful? Or is calling people names and putting them down what you consider useful?
The daytime drama has given us so many thoughtful, intriguing and fascinating storylines over the years, and they weren’t afraid to tackle sensitive subjects, from domestic violence to the AIDS epidemic, and they did it in a manner which made the stories so vital, compelling and real. This is the kind of storytelling which is still needed in daytime TV, as a counterpoint to the relentless reality/self-help talking head shows which are oversaturating the airwaves.
It’s enough to make you want give up on broadcast TV altogether…
Four dollar gas? Double digit unemployment? Unmanned drones? That’s all perfectly fine. But cancel my soap and you’re gonna hear about it. That’s right, biches, we takin’ it to the street!
Thank you Hoover for standing up for us soap viewers! As a way to say thanks to Hooever, why don’t we soap viewers purchase Hoover bags, belts or whatever and send them to ABC as a visible protest, such as they did with the peanuts for Jericho when it was cancelled. I like the soap idea but why not support Hoover and make a point at the same time.
I have a question: Do the ratings take into account the number of people that watch the soaps at ABC.com online, on SoapNet, and during the regular scheduled viewing on ABC daytime? I think probably not. If they could add all those numbers together (which I am sure they could do if they really wanted to) the numbers would be impressive. Was it planned to drop the ratings numbers by offering the alternative viewings online and on SoapNet so they could have this for an excuse to cancel the soaps?
So if ABC’s plan is to replace the soaps with programming that viewers do not want to watch, the ratings aren’t going to be good so the advertising dollars won’t be there either. Maybe the programming will be cheaper but the loss will be even more so in advertising dollars so how is this better. By the way, if talk shows and reality shows are cheaper, why did they ask Regis to take a pay cut. All of this is starting to sound like smoke and mirrors. So why not leave the soaps on with a dedicated long standing audience.
I truly believe the soaps on ABC are probably the best and want to continue to watch them, heck I have been watching them since the 70′s. No, I don’t want to watch more reality TV, food, talk or whatever shows. I have plenty of those options on other channels already and choose not to watch them, so why would I choose to watch them if the soaps are cancelled. I want to watch my soaps.
The soaps have long been a training ground for the current popular actors on primetime shows and movies so future actors will be losing this valuable asset. The actors and crew were dedicated enough to move all the way across country for their craft, now look how they are being thanked for their efforts.
Yes, I am educated and a former successful business owner. When I was able to work, I would watch them on my lunch or break, or record them for later after the children were in bed. My husband and I always prepared home cooked meals, our home was always clean, and we raised some great productive children.
I am not able to work anymore as I am physically disabled, the soaps are my escape. I have already had 4 surgeries with several more to go.
We soap viewers are multitaskers and don’t just sit and watch. I quilt or cross stitch as I watch my soaps each day. Yes, I can and do read in bed each night before I go so sleep as I listen to Yanni, or John Tesh, Josh Groban, etc.
This is my escape entertainment. Please don’t begrudge me that. If my soaps aren’t there, I don’t think I will be needing ABC at all anymore. Thank you for letting me have my say.
Debbie wrote: As a way to say thanks to Hooever, why don’t we soap viewers purchase Hoover bags, belts or whatever and send them to ABC as a visible protest
Using that scenario, the only person earning any money would be Hoover. You’d be purchasing Hoover products that you didn’t use and then mailing them to ABC, who will have no use for them and simply throw them away. Hoover will be making money off the first batch of items you bought and didn’t use, and since you didn’t use them you’ll have to go back to the store to get more vacuum cleaner products to actually use this time. It is a waste of time and money.
Debbie continued: By the way, if talk shows and reality shows are cheaper, why did they ask Regis to take a pay cut.
Because he’s bee on the show for 26 years (or more) and his salary is probably astronomical. If you work as a janitor for 26 years you’re bound to be making significantly more than simple minimum wage. Think about it.
The actors and crew were dedicated enough to move all the way across country for their craft, now look how they are being thanked for their efforts.
That’s life. Countless millions of people have relocated to another city or state or been headhunted and changed companies, only for that same company to later go out of business. It happens. There are no guarantees in life. Where in the Constitution are you guaranteed job security?
Do the ratings take into account the number of people that watch the soaps at ABC.com online, on SoapNet, and during the regular scheduled viewing on ABC daytime? I think probably not. If they could add all those numbers together (which I am sure they could do if they really wanted to) the numbers would be impressive.
SoapNet has been cancelled and will go off the air in January of 2012. The fact that SoapNet, the one channel devoted exclusively to soap operas and dramas, couldn’t make it should have been the first clue that the format is dead and that viewer interest is so low as to be negligible.
As to your other point…you have to assume that the executives at ABC have looked at all revenue streams and platforms and determined that #1 the shows were losing money continuously, no matter what the platform and #2 that there was no hope of turning the situation around; that at the end of the day, the writing was simply on the wall: viewer interest in the format is dead and never to come back.
One of the underlying arguments early on in this debate from the soap fans was that the execs at ABC were greedy bastards that only cared about money, yet it doesn’t seem to have occurred to these same people that if there was any money to be made off of soap operas that these greedy bastards would have found a way to make it work. The fact that money grubbing suits at ABC were unable to find any way to create an economic model for the shows that earned money speaks to the overall lack of interest in the viewing public at large for these shows, and the pessimism that the network knew it faced in looking at the future of the entire format. It’s not merely AMC and OLTL that are going away; it’s the entire format.
ABC is on crack!
I will not be watching ABC afternoons once ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE leave the airways. I will vaccuum my rugs with my HOOVER VACCUUM instead!.
I’m with you Susan. There are plenty of other channels. Who needs ABC.
Please do not cancel these two soaps. All you have to do is get better realistic story lines. Do NOT use the same story line for all the soaps & change the scenerio. That was what was poor! Please DO NOT Cancel All My Children & One Life To Live. Get NEW WRITERS with creativity!!
Jenny! Good for you (GFY? Lol) I agree! I would be so pissed off if ‘Days’ was taken off. What I am noticing more and more, is how ALL THE THINGS THAT FAMILIAR to us ARE BEING TAKEN AWAY! All our heroes, and things that make us feel comfortable! Reality shows with pre-written scripts I do NOT like. I have always given consideration and even pictured that group of writers think tanking their next episodes, and how good they are at it!
Soap networks make plenty of $$$ from their sponsors, why take away what is ‘familiar’? I say it is on purpose. I remember how they sold us cable t.v., claiming ‘NO commercials’. Another scam. Now it is nothing but! In general, if all of us don’t take a stand and fight for these issues; we are selling ourselves, and the freedoms we are supposed to be entitled too, we are doomed. But. The way to protest is in silent ways. I cheer any of the sponsors who pull their advertising! Make these people go broke. T.V. Is for OUR entertainment, and for what WE like!
LOL. I agree! Truth is, one of the bigger networks is probably getting ready to takeover ABC. Another acquisition to accent our NEW WORLD.
One more thought about these ‘reality’ shows. Look at the mentality of these groups of people, and how their demeanors affect our minds. Reality shows are showing an air of ‘dumbing down’, when it is time in our lives, and necessary, to lift our thinking-minds to higher thinking and self-expectations! When as a human race are we going to see there is a better way for all of us, and as individuals; begin making the choices that will get us there.