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ATI's Romanovich speaks out on Daytime Emmy Telecast content decisions!

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

ATI’s, Jim Romanovich spoke to TV Guide Canada’s, Soapgeist, Nelson Branco,  on this year’s Daytime Emmy Telecast.  And while fans were upset over the lack of airtime for soaps, clips of the nominees, and the ATWT’s tribute, plus the insertion of an commercial for the Las Vegas Hilton inside the telecast itself, Romanovich told Branco why it all had to be done this way.  Many industry insiders apparently offered their kudos f on this show being the best telecast in years.  Here are a few excerpts:

Romanovich on saving the Emmys: “Perhaps what many genuine soap fans don’t realize is that the Daytime Emmys were allowed back on TV in spite of the soaps, not because of them. Had we not had a 20-minute tribute to Bandstand (which according to the ratings on the quarter hour was the spike that won the two-time period and the night for CBS) and the Las Vegas Hilton, we would have never had CBS. It would have been over. Therefore, the Daytime Emmys would have been a dinner at the Beverly Hilton. For the daytime community, that’s not a bad thing. It’s still a good, fun night for them. But what the Daytime Emmys represent by being on television is the strength of the content of daytime television. If the soaps have a chance in hell at being looked at as relevant in mainstream America, it has to be [related with what the general public considers] mainstream.  As a soap fan, I’m telling you the sad facts, which is why I have worked so hard to keep the Daytime Emmys on television. The facts are that networks really have lost interest in their soaps. They are not the financial boons they used to be. What’s sadder is that if you poll most television viewers and ask them who Oprah, Judge Judy and Jerry Springer are, they know. Ask them again who Agnes Nixon, Susan Flannery and Maura West are and they don’t know. The soap opera fan alone cannot sustain the Daytime Emmys. Like all awards shows, you need entertainment as that wide net to capture as many fish as possible. If I can do that with some magic and music, while still maintain about an 80 per cent weight to the soaps, then we all win. What I’m hoping to do with the Emmys is prolong their relevance so that these six remaining shows can have a life beyond daytime TV when the Internet and à la carte television options presented to us in the near future is our only way of watching TV. That’s what I tried to do with Guiding Light.

Romanovich on ATI and CBS’s plan to make the show relevant in 2010: “If we never came forward and produced the Daytime Emmys in ‘09, what message would that have sent to the broadcast networks? Everything we did for the Daytime Emmys had a grand plan and last weekend was it — to make it big, on a top network, and relevant. Was it the same as 20 years ago? No, because the soaps aren’t the same (or as plentiful) as 20 years ago. As one who is doing everything for soaps I can, I will feature Lion Kings, Kabuki dancers and the roster of Motown if that’s what it takes to keep them on TV.”

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Geoffrey-Martin Cyr
Guest
Geoffrey-Martin Cyr

Am I the only person out here that feels a disconnect when listening to Mr. Romanovich’s claims of having the greater good of daytime television in mind when producing these past two years of Daytime Emmy telecasts? Really? Is his goal to represent the best in daytime television or is his goal to simply “air” the Daytime Emmys; because to me, he seems more concerned with the latter than with doing anything substanitive to honor those supposedly gathered. How does he feel his telecasts represent the “strength of the content of daytime television” when a simple element as viewers aren’t… Read more »

Sharon
Guest
Sharon

Mr. Romanovich’s claims are a big pile of BS!!! I totally agree with the previous writer that they should quit while they’re ahead and go back to the nice dinner/awards ceremony where the people of DAYTIME can be honored and we’re not forced to watch an infomercial of Vegas and a hotel suite and a bunch of Vegas acts that I couldn’t care less about! Using the title DAYTIME EMMY’S as an excuse to air a Vergas informercial is a joke only it’s not funny at all!!! He has his numbers confused because Vegas took up 80%+ of the time… Read more »

News

The Men of Charity Lawson’s Season of ‘The Bachelorette’ Revealed

Bachelor Nation got a preview of the twenty-five men who are searching for love and are hoping to find it with season 20’s ‘Bachelorette’ Charity Lawson.  The new season of the reality-dating competition kicks-off on Monday June 26th (9-11 PM ET) on ABC.

Viewers met Lawson during Zach Shallcross’ season of The Bachelor.  During a recent appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Charity said on being the producers choice for the lead role in season 20: “This puts me in the position of being the fourth woman of color to hold this role and the second monoracial African American woman to have the opportunity to find love. I notice and acknowledge that this is so much bigger than myself. It is my journey to love, but it’s bigger than me.”

The men vying for the final rose will include:
Aaron B., 29, a software salesman from San Diego, Calif.
Aaron S., 33, a firefighter from San Diego, Calif.
Adrian, 33, a realtor from Northridge, Calif.
Brayden, 24, a travel nurse from San Diego, Calif.
Caleb A., 29, a resident physician from Ann Arbor, Mich.
Caleb B., 24, a pro wrestler from Orlando, Fla.
Christopher “Chris,” 27, a world record jumper from White Plains, N.Y.
Dotun, 30, an integrative medicine specialist from Brooklyn, N.Y.
James, 28, an attorney from Chicago, Ill.
Joe, 32, a tech operations director from San Francisco, Calif.
Joseph “Joey,” 27, a tennis pro from Lawai, Hawaii.

Photo: ABC

John., 27, a data scientist from New York, N.Y.
John Henry, 30, an underwater welder from Virginia Beach, Va.
Josh, 28, a Harvard grad student from Bethlehem, Pa.
Kaleb K., 26, construction salesman from Norcross, Ga.
Ahmad Khalid “Khalid,” 28, a tech recruiter from Dearborn, Mich.
Michael, 28, a yacht captain from Chicago, Ill.
Nicholas “Nick,” 32, an HR executive from Bayonne, N.J.
Peter, 33, an airline pilot from New York, N.Y.
Sean, 25, a software sales representative from Tampa, Fla.
Spencer, 32, a medical sales director from Moorpark, Calif.
Tanner, 30, a mortgage lender from Pittsburgh, Pa.
Taylor, 32, a loan officer from Springboro, Ohio
Warwick, 27, a construction manager from Nashville, Tenn.
Xavier, 27, a biomedical scientist from Carrboro, N.C.

Over the past weekend, a video teaser for the men of Charity’s season was released by ABC.  You can check it out below.

Then, let us know, any picks on which guy could steal Charity’s heart on the upcoming season of The Bachelorette? Let us know in the comment section.

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Breaking News

Walt Willey Brings All My Children’s Jackson Montgomery to General Hospital

Look for another legal eagle character from a former ABC soap opera to pop up on General Hospital!

News today out of Soap Opera Digest has that none other than Walt Willey set to reprise his role as All My Children’s Jackson Montgomery on upcoming episodes of GH in July.

Willey played Erica Kane’s (Susan Lucci) love interest and the Pine Valley lawyer from 1987 through to till ABC’s cancellation of the series back in 2011.  The actor previously crossed-over to another soap opera in 1996, when he played Jack on ABC’s The City.

Photo: ABC

Taking to his Facebook account, Walt confirmed the news on his appearances on GH: “Hey Folks… Been sitting on this one for a while but now I’ve been given the clearance to announce that “Jackson Montgomery” is visiting Port Charles! I’ll be doing a few episodes of General Hospital, due to air mid July. So excited to reprise my character and see and work with old friends! I’ll keep you posted on any details. “Jackson” in Port Charles…who would have thought it? Let me, and ABC, know what you think about it!”

Could Jack’s sudden arrival in Port Charles have to do with the SEC and the trouble that Carly (Laura Wright) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) find themselves in?   Will AMC fans get to see Cameron Mathison and Willey share scenes together again?  Mathison played Ryan Lavery on the beloved former soap opera.

So, excited to see Walt on General Hospital? What do you think brings Jack to Port Charles? Weigh-in below and stay tuned.

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Days Of Our Lives

DAYS Alum Jensen Ackles on ‘The Winchesters’ Inability to Find New Home is a Case of ‘Unfortunate Timing’

Former Supernatural, Big Sky, and Days of our Lives star, Jensen Ackles (ex-Dean, ex-Beau, ex-Eric) took to social media on Saturday when the news broke that his series, The Winchesters, in which he executive produced, has run out of options to find a new home.

The show which aired for one season on the CW was a prequel to Supernatural.   In an update, The Winchesters producing studio, Warner Bros, attempted to find another network or streaming partner to move forward with the series after its cancellation.

Now comes word that all avenues have been exhausted.  All this, even though a #SavetheWinchesters campaign led by Ackles, himself, was attempted to bring some attention and heat on the show.

Photo: NBC

Jensen expressed his ‘thanks’ to the viewers and cited the current WGA writer’s strike as one of the main contributing factors to making the search for a new home for the series extremely daunting.

Ackles shared: “To all of you who watched, followed, and supported this story, THANK YOU. And to all those who brought this show to life…I couldn’t be more proud of what we all did together. But as they say…timing is everything. With a massive Network shift coupled with an industry strike…welp…that’s some unfortunate timing. Sleep well dear  @WinchestersOnCW…until we meet again. Somewhere down the road.”

Courtesy/CW

So, did you watch The Winchesters? Do you hope it can someday return? What did you think about the sentiments shared by Jensen Ackles? Comment below.

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Peter Reckell returns for a second visit with Michael Fairman following the wrap-up of his recent run as Bo Brady on Days of our Lives.Leave A Comment

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