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ABC News Boss Ben Sherwood Named Anne Sweeney's Successor As ABC Television Group President!

Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

That didn’t take long! After the much bantered about upcoming departure of ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney, her successor has been named!

ABC News chief, Ben Sherwood will now take over the position of co-chairman, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney/ABC Television Group on February 1, 2015, a day after  Sweeney’s exit.

According to Deadline.com, “Sherwood’s appointment comes after a short search, with the news wiz considered an early frontrunner as Disney again looked within ranks for the next top executive hire.  Sherwood will begin the transition as Co-President, Disney/ABC Television Group alongside Sweeney immediately, while also continuing to oversee ABC News until a successor is named.

“Ben is one of those unique executives who combine rich creative experience with great business acumen,” Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger said. “He’s also focused, strategic, and competitive, as evidenced by the success of GMA, the Yahoo deal that delivered ABC News online dominance, and his vision behind our new cable and digital joint venture, Fusion. These reasons, and many others, make Ben the ideal candidate to oversee the future of the Disney/ABC Television Group.”

It is Sherwood’s accomplishments as head of the ABC News division that propelled him to the reins of Disney’s entire non-sports TV portfolio. Among them is leading Good Morning America to No. 1, brokering a successful online partnership with Yahoo to and launching Fusion, a joint venture news and lifestyle network with Univision.

“Over the years, he has moved from success-to-success, and helped create a more vibrant, collaborative and powerful news division that embraces innovation and risk-taking,” Anne Sweeney said. “Ben’s now set to bring those same attributes to bear for the larger group, and I could not be more thrilled. This announcement simply highlights the fact that our talent and succession planning process works.”

So, what are your thoughts on the hiring of Ben Sherwood?  Will he be a friend to the soaps?  Let us know your thoughts!

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I think it’s irrelevant for soap fans anymore WHO they put in charge. Sweeney and Frons did the dirty work and cleared away the soaps. All that’s left for this guy to do is to put the nail in GH’s coffin – or not.
Guaranteed, whatever he does, it won’t matter a rats behind whether the viewers are happy or not.

This is extremely bad news for soap fans. He supposedly wanted the flop that was Good Afternoon America to replace GH.

He’s probably more interested in news programs than soaps…

Probably Interested in their dumb solution to put on more talk & cooking shows.. Which would be a disaster…

The only thing I care about is that he doesn’t touch GH. Getting rid of AMC and OLTL was a huge mistake by ABC, and getting rid of their last remaining and most popular soap would be an even bigger one.

Arrrrrgh!!!! Dan…I LOVE GH! But as a viewer of ABC’s OLTL I have to correct you…it was higher in the ratings than GH…GH was NOT the most popular before “the fall.” Don’t get me wrong…I watched GH back then too…loved them both. But OLTL was not cancelled due to poor ratings or lack of popularity.

Here we go again, ok rebecca( I’m rolling my eyes), oltl was accidently incorrectly, wrongfully and mistakenly picked to get cancelled be evil abc and it should of been AMC and GH . happy now? Feel validated? oltl was better(i’m giggling) then GH, it holds the record as the soap with most emmy wins(oh wait thats GH) and record for the most watched episode in daytme history.(oh wait that was GH again), furthermore Time magazine, TV guide listed as the most popular soap of all time( damn is that GH again?) oh and don’t forget it was abc top soap for its entire run on abc,(lol, i sound convincing) so to conclude, OLTL is the best soap ever Cancelled. ooh that sounds good, see? oltl is the best show no longer on the air.

oltl was higher in the ratings when it left the air due to people watching its final days. it was not higher at the time it was announced they were canceling it. Arrrrrgh….I get so tired of hearing this from oltl fans. Get it straight!

Relishing in your own sarcasm? If it makes you feel better, I suppose.

Aria…aside from the fact that you’re apparently obnoxious…and you can roll your eyes, lol and giggle with the best of them…I reiterate…

OLTL was not canceled due to a lack of popularity.

At a point close to when it was canceled, OLTL numbers went up slightly (from 2.5 million to 2.6 million). And it was the only soap not to dip in the key demo.

“Two years ago, there were fears that “General Hospital” would be cancelled, like their sister shows “One Life To Live,” and “All My Children.” At that time, the ratings for “General Hospital” was not as high as they are now. In fact, they were lower than “One Life To Live’s” ratings.

Oh, and please shove your snarky arse somewhere else.

rebecca rebecca rebecca, ok, in oltl entire history, they only beat GH in the ratings for an entire season 3 times, 2 of those were in the 70’s and the last time was their final season(2011-2012) so base on that if your an executive at abc and your told we are getting rid of 2 of our 3 soaps and you got to take into account everything from history, to revenue,& prestige (i.e emmy wins) do you really think oltl was their most valuable real estate among their soaps? yes, they were having a creative and ratings upsurge but that happened after abc had already decided on the two soaps they would axed. So by the time Abc decided to cancel Oltl, it didn’t have anything prior to its last season to make abc choose it over GH, and thats the simple fact, its not me making up stats, i’m not exaggerating all those prior years that GH was ABC top soap in the ratings, or was winning emmy as best show, some years even winning 3 years in a row. or for making history for the most single watch episode in daytime history( for luke and lauras wedding) So, hate and blame abc for cancelling OLTL but can all you OLTL fans stop with the GH bashing to pump up OLTL into something that it never was when you put them up to comparison, because believe me, their stats will never add up.

Aria…I truly believe you have a reading comprehension thing going on. Where oh where did I “bash” GH? If you had actually read my “pleasant” first response…I said I had watched BOTH shows…LOVED both shows…and wouldn’t want EITHER one to be cancelled. I would have been equally disappointed if GH had been canceled instead of OLTL. I simply stated that OLTL was still popular, still had decent ratings…and at the time of the fall…was higher than GH.

READ…don’t just gloss over someone’s words. And don’t ATTACK with that smug attitude that you gave me. Learn to discuss/debate…

Point taken I can concede that I misread what you said, sorry for offending you, not my intention.

Bravo Rebecca! Your posts were pleasent and absolutely correct. Some people need to grow up

Aria…you need to reread your posts to me and then decide whether it was your “not your intention to offend me.” Because if that was NOT your intention…I can only imagine how offensive you could be if you put your mind to it.

With that said, thank you for the apology. Accepted.

Joliefan88…thanks! 😉

I don’t want to directly offend you Rebecca. I was trying to pre empt any attack from OLTL fans towards GH , and yes I was high on sarcasm that day but that’s me n I can take any attack back I just don’t want u thinking it was personal because no one should be attacked personally. I felt justified from a GH fan vs a OLTL fan, although u clearly stated u were a fan of both shows. So will I irritate someone else with the GH vs OLTL ? I surely hope so but it won’t be no personal attack, it’s just not what I’m into. I’m not interested in fighting with anyone about personal taste, if u love OLTL n think it’s the best show ever or dool, y&r or b& b then that’s not something to start a debate or war over but if someone talks shit bout my fave show ( not u Rebecca) then I will feel the need to shower them with my sarcasm, I just over jump the gun with u so sorry again but to ant OLTL fans who wants to throw GH under the bus just to make OLTL look good well be ready cause here I come.

It sounds like this guy has never watched a soap in in his life, so I doubt he will do much for the genre on that network except be the guy who finally kills their last daytime drama.

They always put these crappy talk shows & cooking shows which are so forgettable! They have no drama, emotion what so ever and its NOT entertainment..

I don’t trust him or abc. He will try, to cancel general hospital. Abc want out of the soap business.

never heard of him…but I’m wary as to what his approach will be to soaps. if he’s that much of a businessman…and is good at turning a profit…he may not want to keep GH on for the long run if it’s not lucrative. risky…

Is he bringing back OLTL to the daytime line on ABC? Otherwise, I could care less who takes over the position.

But it’s ABC … who cares?!?!?

Oh kevin, you are being a smart ass. yes we all care, about gh, we love the soap. If it gets cancelled? I’m done with abc.

Hope the ratings stay good!

Could CBS just please buy GH????

Some of us need to get a grip on reality, soaps are not a priority,. The lack of interest from TV executives is not a vendetta, soaps don’t make much money anymore to justify the production cost. General hospital is on borrowed time and if it is still around two years from now I will be surprised. Regardless of who is running the show.

Rapids…very well said and unfortunately correct. But, this is a soap fan site…so of course the comments voice concern that this guy will bring GH down. Michael asked for reaction to this guy’s hiring…that’s what he got.

People need to face the facts Disney never cared and doesnt care about soaps now. Their bottom line is profits and moving toward the future. Eventually GH will get the ax too. Disney isnt going to shell out any new money to keep it going. It’s only a matter of time.

Disney has nothing to do it with weather or not GH stays on. ABC says what shows they keep and what ones they don’t

You are so misinformed. Disney is ABC’s parent company. They bankroll whatever the network does. They decide where their money goes.

I do not think that he will replace GH. If he wants to watch ABC get worse than it is then good luck. He will have to find out the hard way. Why do you think Sweeney is leaving? Tanked network. I do not see GH as a threat to try more crap. Obviously he will try GAA again. That is laughable.

Disney doesnt care much for ABC anyway. There bread and butter is not this lousy little TV network. Their bread and butter is the theme parks and movies and tons of other entertainment companies that they have acquired and continue to acquire. Disney is a multi billion dollar conglomerate. Im really surprised they havent sold ABC off by now.

Ben Sherwood, I would like to watch general hospital on the abc app. I’m a big fan of abc. When they interrupted it a special new report. I will miss it. I sometimes watch gh on my ipad. I know that they have on demand show. Can you help me with abc app. Thanks

Hey Barbara I too was hoping for the abc apt , it’s so complicated now, u can’t watch same day episode or u have to have permission from your cable provider . It’s a big o mess. I don’t know how bad it is where you’re from with the network or local station interrupting your show for stupid little late breaking news but if you miss one episode then I recommend iTunes it’s easy and the best way to catch up on episode it costs just a few bucks is not bad if you don’t get interrupted all the time.

He would like to shove down our throats more talk & cooking shows .. That would really piss me off.. I have been a soap fan for many years and this what I like to watch in the afternoon. Anything else other then the soaps I would NEVER watch. This would be the final straw that broke the camels back…And there are talk shows that were suppose to be cancelled and they are still on. (example: Katie)… Those kind of shows are very forgettable. They can’t compare to our stories in any way.

I have read all the comments Michael & those that want to trash OLTL & want OLTL fans to shut up need to think what would they do if their soap, GH, was cancelled. Fans of OLTL are helping GH stay on. We decided to watch GH even after out beloved soap was cancelled in order to help GH’s ratings. GH would be gone had it not been for OLTL & AMC fans agreeing to watch GH to keep it on TV. I love GH but OLTL was my favorite, as everyone that knows me knows that. I will continue to hope for OLTL to come back even though I believe it is gone because my idol Erika Slezak,aka Viki Lord, made the statement that she didn’t believe OLTL would be back. ABC cares nothing about viewers or OLTL would still be on.

It matters not to me who is working over at ABC-TV as far as the Execs go. The damage has been done, it seems doubtful that One Life to Live nor ALL MY CHILDREN could resurface at this point. If the powers at the helm were smart, they would combine the cast members available from each show and make one new soap – All My Children Have One life to live – (kidding about the Title) – utilizing the seasoned talents of Erika Slezak, Robin Strasser, Jill Larsen and others ~ but alas, that will probably not happen.

Time to move on Tony. Erika Slezak will land on another soap. Maybe she can be, the new Caroline Brady on days of our lives. Peggy Mckay needs to retire now.

If Erika Slezak wanted to work in other venues I sure she could have found another job somewhere else by now. Ive seen former One Life stars pop up all over TV not just in the 4 soaps.
I see former soap stars all over entertainment in film and wherever.

People need to give up on AMC and OLTL they are toast. Time to move on like the actors have. In the words of Frozen. Let it Go, lol.

General Hospital

More of the Story on ‘General Hospital’ Star Josh Kelly’s Latest Film Role in ‘The Workout’

We had previously shared that General Hospital’s Josh Kelly was taking three weeks away from his role of Cody Bell to a shoot a role in an upcoming movie entitled The Workout.

Josh originally revealed his role in the film during an episode of GH castmates, Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson’s (Spinelli) podcast.

Now Deadline has filled in some of the blanks, and shared some intriguing intel on the premise of the film and its back-story.  The film stars Kelly along with Peter Jae, and UFC Fighter, Ashlee Evans-Smith. Other cast members include The Bay’s Kristos Andrews.

Photo: ABC

In The Workout, two army rangers set out to create a workout video, but their plans are abruptly halted when a mob hit interrupts their filming. Tragically, one of the rangers loses his wife in the attack, sending him on a relentless mission to take down the mob and anyone who stands in his way.

The film from James Cullen Bressack, almost did not get financed.  Apparently, ten days before his birthday, Bressack made a post on Instagram about the feature and production, casting, and financing came from the post … illustrating the power of social media. After the post gained traction, a producer provided financing and actors expressed interest in joining the project, leading to a quick production.

Photo: ABC

In a statement, Bressack shared, “As artists a painter paints, a musician makes music, a writer writes, but as filmmakers we have to ask permission to create. It’s time to change that narrative. This film spawned from a necessity to create. We create. We tell stories. We play pretend. I’m excited to take this journey. This is the truest form of collaboration and a community of friends coming together to make something fun. While our industry has had a rough time recently with strikes and a possible strike looming in the future, it’s nice to remind ourselves why we got into film to begin with. To have fun telling stories.”

No word yet on when The Workout will be released.

So, looking forward to seeing this collaborative effort featuring GH’s Josh Kelly? Comment below.

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Breaking News

51st Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Set to Be Announced

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences revealed on Wednesday via X, that this year’s 51st annual Daytime Emmy Nominations are set to be announced in full on Friday, April 19th at 12 pm ET/9 am PT.

However, four of the top award category nominations will be revealed on Thursday, April 18th across four entertainment news programs to kick things off.

Those include this Thursday episodes of Access Hollywood, E! News, Entertainment Tonight and Extra. Over the past few years, NATAS has often let the syndicated entertainment news program handle the duties of revealing the top actor and actress in a daytime drama series, but we shall see which categories the shows unveil this year.

Photo/AP

As previously announced, the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be presented in ceremonies on Friday night, June 7th on CBS (8 – 10 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+*.

The awards will be back at The Bonaventure hotel in downtown Los Angeles, where (the delayed due to the actors and writers strike) 50th annual Daytime Emmy Awards were held back in December of 2023.

Look for the full nominations to be posted right here at Michael Fairman TV and you can follow along on Friday on the Daytime Emmys social platforms as well.

Photo: AP

The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of categories, including daytime dramas, talk shows, instructional programming, hosting, culinary, and legal/courtroom programs. In 2021, NATAS and the Television Academy jointly announced plans to realign the Daytime and Primetime Emmy Awards to be organized by content genre, as opposed to program airtime.

The 51st Daytime Emmy Nominations will honor the work and achievement from the calendar year of 2023.

So, who would you like to see in the running for gold when the Daytime Emmy nominations in the key acting and show categories are revealed? Share your thoughts below.

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General Hospital

General Hospital’s Adam J. Harrington Weighs-in On John and Carly, and How it’s ‘Starting to Get Very Complicated”

On recent episodes of General Hospital, Carly (Laura Wright) came to John “Jagger” Cates (Adam Harrington) rescue as he was beaten down in an assault. Carly put on her “nurses cap,” sort of speak, and got John to his hotel room and watched over to him, to make sure he didn’t lose consciousness.

GH fans also got their first glimpse of what may be a new romance for Carly, if she and John continue to bond.  If John and Carly were to have a relationship, it would certainly have a ripple effect with Jason (Steve Burton) and Sonny (Maurice Benard).

Adam J. Harrington shared his view on the scenes and what might be next between the two. Speaking to Soap Opera Digest, Harrington shared, “I thought it was written in a way where there’s an understanding and a respect between them both. I don’t think there was any moment where she was not aware that he’s an FBI agent, and there was no moment that he wasn’t aware of her history and relationship to other people in the town. I really liked it. I was really looking forward to shooting it with Laura and we had a really nice time shooting it.”

Photo: ABC

When Carly and John part ways, it seems there were some romantic sparks, as Harrington puts it, “Isn’t that interesting that sometimes with people, the one moment they actually show how they feel is when they know there’s an escape hatch. They know they’re about to walk away. So, it’s almost safe in that moment to do it. I thought that was really special about how (the writers) handled John and Carly. Even the music in that scene was beautifully done.”

Where is this all heading? Conflict! Internally and professionally, and as Adam explains, “Who Carly was to John on paper as just a tool to be used as bait is starting to get very complicated.”

What would you think of a John and Carly pairing? Would you prefer him with Anna, or neither of them? Let us know via the comment section and take our poll below.

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