News
The Meredith Vieira Show A Firm Go For Fall 2014! Stations Picking It Up Due To KATIE's Looming Axe!
Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins
According to Broadcasting & Cable this morning, “The Meredith Vieira Show is the first syndicated first-run show to get a firm go for next fall. NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution has sold Vieira in more than 60% of the U.S.for its broadcast syndication debut next September, said Ed Swindler, president, NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution and president, NBC Broadcast Operations.
The NBC Owned Stations staked their claim to Vieira in July, soon after NBCU decided to pick the show up to series. Besides NBC, stations from Hearst Television, Sinclair, LIN Media, Cordillera Communications, Gray Television, Post-Newsweek, Schurz Communications, London Broadcasting, Hubbard Broadcasting, Bonneville, Meredith, Young, Raycom, Quincy, Cox and other groups have acquired the show.
According to sources, many stations are picking up Vieira to hedge their bets if Disney-ABC’s Katie does not return for a third season. Hearst, which owns 13 ABC affiliates, is ABC’s biggest affiliate group.
The NBC Owned Stations are expected to air Vieira at 2 p.m. in many markets, leading into the group’s two established talkers: NBCU’s Steve Harvey at 3 and Warner Bros.’ Ellen DeGeneres at 4. Those stations have holes at 2 p.m. after CBS Television Distribution ended the low-rated run of Jeff Probst after only one year. The show will be produced in New York, with Vieira serving as an executive producer as well as host, and will be produced and distributed by NBCU DTD.”
So, what do you think of stations clearing Meredith Vieria in case Katie Couric’s show falls by the wayside? Would you be at all interested in watching a Meredith talker over a Katie talker? Yes, we all know we would prefer to have a soap on, but that is not likely to happen any time soon, unfortunately!
This will not have any impact in the NYC media market re: WABC /Katie since it looks like it will be on WNBC at 2:00. What about Days of our lives?
dool now comes on at 12:00 noon on the east coast………………
Not in NYC.
oh – well it does in philadelphia………..
Another boring show same topics different host. Katie might as well stay on the air.
I know, right. I don’t understand why soap bloggers are so adamant about slamming Katie Couric.
No. 1: “General Hospital” was NEVER cancelled because of her talk show (which airs on NBC, CBS and ABC affiliates all over the country).
No. 2: If/when it is axed, another talk show will take it’s place, not the return of a soap.
If you want to blame some shows, blame “The Chew” and “Revolution.”
Too many talk shows already. That would be three hours of talk, talk, talk. You hear the same thing over and over with the same set of ” EXPERTS”. Too much. Stop trying to replace Oprah not possible!!!
No thanks. I cannot remember the last time I even watched a talk show. I watch the CBS morning show and news for a few minutes each morning. Bring back OLTL.
I wonder what that means for “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”,which M.V. used to host and is now hosted by Cedric The Entertainer,since it airs in the 2PM slot after DAYS on KNBC in Los Angeles.
I love meredith vieria her talk show will be a huge hit. cancel days of our lives. its really boring now.
right on anna i totally agree with you. days of our lives will be gone soon. i smell a cancellation coming soon. meredith seems like a nice lady. katie couric puts me to sleep. i have never liked that woman. she is really full of herself
meridith i love that woman so much. her show will have good ratings. i hope this means katie will be cancelled. i hate katie so much. katie is greedy, i cannot believe they threw 20 million dollars to katie. what a waste of money. where people are starving all over the world. katie is dumb dumb. people don’t care for her anymore.
JUST MY OPINION: It boggles my mind that you are in a soap opera website, yet you are writing or wishing that Days of our Lives gets cancelled!!??? People lets support our serial dramas, regardless if we watch that show or not..I for one am hoping the genre continues to regrow..If people are wishing that certain soaps should be cancelled, then why be on a website about soaps?? JUST MY OPINION
You do realize that this is a blog that promotes the soap genre,don’t you?
At least we can expect her to be soap positive (as KATIE was, surprisingly). If we can’t do anything about these talk shows, they should at least be good vehicles for promoting the remaining soaps. CBS sibling show THE TALK is obviously the best at this, but KATIE promoted both DAYS and GH milestones and produced a prime time special. As long as Meredith does the same, I can’t complain. It’s not like AW is coming back to NBC 🙁
I say “can expect” given Meredith’s fandom of GH and her multiple appearances as Bree, the former madame (who was taught the business by OLTL’s Renee, we learned) turned Lucy Coe-assistant/confidante. She seems to have a good relationship with soaps which would hopefully lead to some synergy, if not for GH, then for DAYS, which needs it. It has no “TALK” and deserves much better ratings lately, than it’s been getting. Get some cross promotion going!
What makes them think one will succeed where the other failed? Too many talkers as it is. Somebody needs to come up with a new way to score daytime viewers. Soaps evidently aren’t doing it, but neither was Katie.
While I really like MV and dislike Katie, I still
will not tune in.GH is the only daytime
Show I will watch.I wonder if ABC understands
How bad they messed up!!Miss my soaps.
I want action…not talk…i only watch soaps and reruns of Match Game on GSN!!!
why doesn’t some one come up with another soap opera that would be nice instead of another talk show who needs them to many already
It would be nice to see a new soap but they are too costly to produce…i doubt any network would be interested!
Katie still took the money out of OLTL, in essence. Damage done.
She gets the money too, 1%.
Also, she treated her staff and crew like crap, so who cares. She still wins big.
Doesn’t matter to me because I watch Ellen when Katie is on. I like Katie but Ellen is such an amazing host.
I think you should change the title of your website to Michael fairman on air soaps and talk shows.Your website is constantly giving free advertising to these stupid talk shows.The soaps are dying stop writing about the dumb talk shows.Your website should only talk about the soaps.The cackling hens of the talk get more publicity on your site then the soaps.Your site needs to start talking about how to keep these soaps alive.This is supposedly your bread and butter in life.The real reason all my children is not taping is because there is no money.The soaps are extremely expensive to produce.They need advertizers with lots of cash to save them.Concentrate on our soaps and stop giving free publicity to these dumb talk shows!
you sound bitter and miserable. talk shows are daytime as well. if you don’t like it. leave the site. plain simple. go have your breakfast you need it. lmao
Love Meredith Vieria and so glad she is in and Katie maybe out! I find Meredith to be a breath of fresh of air as opposed to Katie who really is more into herself! I am so unhappy Meredith does not do the Millionaire Show and miss her tremendously. Congratulations Meredith! You rock!
i love meredith too. she is a very openminded person. and also everyone loves her. katie couric is fake. watch it folks katie will stab you in the back. lol
ONE LIFE TO LIVE is all I will say.
ONe life to live , I agree
DITTO!!!!!
DITTO!:)
No thanks–won’t watch !!Bring back OLTL and AMC to abc !!
that will never happen. abc wants out of the soap business. oltl and amc will never come back to abc or any other network. lets all accept OLTL will never come back again. prospect park are idiots flakes, and are playing games with us.
still not watching another boring talk show, they are so stupid putting money on failed talk shows, BRING BACK ONE LIFE TO LIVE , if they want ratings ugh stupid asses
I agree 100%…
I agree—another boring talk show.
When OLTL and AMC were canceled you could not give them away to any network tv station or cable..
None/No network stepped up to take them, none..
The networks and even cable do not want the expense and huge undertaking to air a soap opera..
Seems they are a taboo to all networks to invest in them..
Thank all powers that their are still 4 soaps remaining
Daytime tv struggling to keep alive.. Cooking shows are the lowest budget there is to be had, next to nothing to produce/air. a cooking show.
Second is the cheap category are talk shows..
Soon, during daytime air time we will be seeing infomercials to pay the bills..
If not for the networks running cheap talk and cooking shows during daytime tv there would be no money to keep the very expensive daytime soaps on the air..
So– air cheap talk and cooking shows to keep a budget run/produce the soaps..
Without the gawd awful cheap talk and cooking shows there would be no money for the huge expense to air the soaps..
We need the pitiful very low budget cooking and talk shoes to keep the soaps alive!!
Stop with the talk shows. Enough already. Bring back OLTL. That’s what we all want.
LOL@ everyone here saying “not another talk show”. These are the same jilted lovers who still haven’t gotten over their beloved soaps leaving them, yet if they thought about it would realize that for ages and ages, said soaps were also on 3 hours a day on every network. No different.
I adore Meredith. She’s one in a million people whose talk show I would consider watching. That’s not because I love talk shows, but I do love Meredith. In a perfect world, she should be a news anchor again and leave daytime to scripted programming.
I will not be watching Meredith.. Another talk show please! And Queen Laifa has a talk show also now. Why do they keep putting out these talk shows? I am not interested at all. I rather watch a soap opera over a talk show any day.. I watch GH and when it is over at three, I put in my dvd player one of my movies to watch..
talk shows ,cooking shows will become extinct , GH prooved there is still life in soaps , abc should swallow there high almighty pride with stuck up execs , bring back our soaps to loyal fans who watched and made them rich if it wasn’t for us!!!! , ……more failed programming to come …abc can eat it like lucy cole on gh said:)
prospect park are lying asses too,…..
I would watch Meredith, but bring back OLTLand AMC too. Please don’t get rid of the other soaps that are on right now . The fans have spoken and what they want so try to find a way to do what the fans want and you will all be heroes.
i feel sorry for meredith , i like her , its obvious her show won’t stick ,its going to be the same as katie , i wish her well she seems like a great person 🙂
The problem isn’t the programming the problem is the whole network system is failing. Gone are the days where people had only three networks to choose from and those three networks could guarantee their advertisers large audiences to watch their ads. Slowly but surely, network television will be gone– replaced by a more a on demand format, where the consumers chooses which product to watch and when, and advertiser will target ads to individuals– by the kind of show they choose– sort of like what Google does now by targeting ads based on which websites you visit. Right now we are in this stage where the glory days of the Big Three are fading fast—- and they are trying for dear life to hold unto what little audience they once had but for cheapest amount possible. Until the network system dies completely, we will endure more of the same. Reinvention is the only long term solution to the problem.
Agree, and-
I can not understand how some people can hope for OLTL and AMC to return to any network tv station, it will never happen, never..
We are very fortunate to still have the 4 remaining soaps..
Daytime will soon be cheap tv, I even see infomercials coming to daytime to help keep it alive..
And yet, some people think OLTL and AMC could return to daytime haaa haa!!
(god bless those silly people lol)
I would much rather watch Meredith than Katie. My fear is that they’re actually going to put her on in place of General Hospital. I won’t watch her if that’s the case!
Like Meredith…but please, no more talk shows!
daytime tv is dying.. it’s the networks night time programming keeping daytime alive, money wise..
low budget very cheap talk and cooking shows are what is keeping money in the bank to produce our very expensive soaps on the air..
—- taking from hand to put in the other ..
Yawn, yet another talk show I’ll never watch… At this point, with all the talk shows and “reality” programming, a soap would be about the most original thing a network could offer.
I enjoy Katie when she has programming worth watching, or a celebrity I care about. But otherwise, I don’t tune in. Hopefully Meredith has a stronger go!! Wishing her all the success!!
Personality-wise, give me Meredith Vieira over that Katie Couric ANY DAY!!!!! Meredith is such a wonderful breath of fresh air…and…she knows how to keep it R-E-A-L!!!!! Unlike Katie, who is so fake and annoying. And the sound of Katie’s voice is EVEN MORE ANNOYING!!!!! No Thank You. TEAM MEREDITH VIEIRA!!!!!!!
Most likely I will not tune in as there are too many talk shows. I prefer good daytime drama like OLTL and AMC that ABC cancelled. Also there are too many cooking shows on too like that silly Chew. If ABC wants to cancel a show, chew up the Chew. Long live General Hospital!
Another boring talk show that will be cancelled like Katie!
Unfortunately, we all need to accept the fact that our soaps are gone for good. At some point, a really good soap will get going on the Internet. People are trying hard to make that happen. I get tired of people critizing PP. No one wants to bring the soaps back more than PP. They have invested a lot of money into the soaps. They had no idea how hard a task this was going to be. They are having to pave the way for themselves and others. I ,too, get frustrated with the lack of info from PP. I have accepted that PP may not be successful in bringing back our soaps but applaud them for trying and breaking down some barriers.
I think Michael needs to change the name of this site. I understand that since soaps are being cancelled, he needs to expand into the talk shows. I am happy that he does this because it does allow us to discuss these awful shows. He lets us speak unlike ABC. ABC kicked me off their chat room because I said I hated the Chew. I will always boycott ABC. It is so funny watching ABC try to win us back by bringing in some of our favorite characters, the latest being Delia. I will never watch ABC again no matter how they try to lure me.
Thank you Michael Fairman and Prospect Park. ABC….I hope you fail.
There are already too many talk shows on every channel. Just leave DOOL and GH alone. I have been watching them since I was a child. I used to watch these shows with my mother and grandmother. Talk shows need to get their own forum.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
General Hospital star Cynthia Watros, who can currently be seen in on the ABC soap opera in the role of Nina Reeves, has had a enduring career in television. That included her time on the 2000-2002 Fox sitcom, Titus.
In Titus, Watros starred along with Stacy Keach as Erin Fitzpatrick and Ken Titus, respectively. After the November 10th news that Keach had passed away at 85 while living in Poland, Cynthia took to her Instagram on Thursday, November 12 to pay tribute to the great actor.
Watros expressed, “My first prime time show was along side Stacy. I loved him instantly. What an amazing talent and man.❤️”
Photo: ABC
In Titus, Stacy played stand up comedian Christopher Titus’ heavy-drinking, chain-smoking, five-times-divorced father who frequently pulled cruel pranks and tried to toughen his kids up. Cynthia played by Christopher’s level-headed, big-hearted girlfriend trying to build a normal life with him. In fact, Cynthia’s role on the sitcom was first series regular role after her Daytime Emmy run of Annie Dutton on Guiding Light which ran from 1994-1998.
STACY KEACH’S WIFE ON HIS PASSING
Keach’s wife, Malgosia shared the news of the actor’s death publicly in a statement with PEOPLE. Malgosia expressed, that Stacy had, “a long and difficult battle with a serious heart condition and heart failure.”
She added, “Stacy peacefully departed this world. He fought for so long, with extraordinary courage, determination and strength. He was a true warrior, facing his illness with the same remarkable spirit and resilience that defined his life.”
Małgosia continued, “Stacy was not only a legendary actor, admired and loved by audiences the world over, but also my beloved husband, my companion and the heart of our family. His passing leaves an immeasurable emptiness in our lives. But his extraordinary spirit, his unforgettable voice and the love he gave so generously will remain with us forever.”
Now, let us know do you remember when Cynthia made her sitcom debut in Titus? Share your thoughts via the comment section on Cynthia’s many TV roles and the passing of Stacy Keach in the comment section. But first, check out the very first episode of Titus with Cynthia Watros below!
Beyond the Gates
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)
Soap opera fans are always clamoring for when Dancing with the Stars reveals their cast each season, that they would include a familiar face from daytime drama, but it rarely happens, if ever, anymore.
Over the last several years, the series has leaned heavily into casting celebrities with massive TikTok or Instagram followers, which in turn, have helped this season and last have their best ratings numbers in years.
But, how about for next season’s cast of Dancing with the Stars, that it could include newly-awarded Daytime Emmy winner, Ambyr Michelle (Eva Thomas) of Beyond the Gates?
Photo: CBS
LOVE OF DANCE TO LOVE OF ACTING
Michael Fairman TV spoke to Michelle about her dance background and if she would love a shot at lifting the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy during Wednesday’s November 11, livestream chat on the Michael Fairman Channel.
Ambyr explained to fans (who joined in on the live chat), how she began her show business career. “I started off as a dancer, first and foremost. Acting wasn’t really something I wanted to go after. I did plays when I was younger, but it was just something we did in school, but I really wanted to be a dancer. I moved out to LA to dance, and I fell out of love with dance, which was so weird.”
This year’s Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series winner, added, “I was like, ‘What is going on?’ I moved all the way out here for dance. I found I was forcing myself to go to dance class, and I just didn’t have the passion for it. I was working at this restaurant at the time, and one of my coworker was like, ‘What about taking an acting class out here?'”
Next, Ambyr took the coworker up on the idea. “So, I took an acting class and I fell in love with it that day,” shared Michelle. “I was like, ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life.’ I thought, I would love to book a role, of course, as a dancer, but I think acting has a little bit more longevity.”
Photo: ABC
A SHOT AT THE LEN GOODMAN MIRRORBALL TROPHY
When the talked turned to if Ambyr would consider or be interested in appearing on the ballroom dance competition series, she piped up with, “I would love to do Dancing with the Stars! Pick me!”
As those in the live chat rallied around this idea, it made us think, Ambyr could be the first contestant from Beyond the Gates, and someone representing the soaps. It checks off so many boxes! To which Ambyr replied, “That would be beautiful.”
You can check out the full conversation with Ambyr below.
So, what do you think soap fans? Can we make sure Ambyr’s name gets in front of the producers and casting director for next season’s Dancing with the Stars? Would you like to see her in the competition? If so, who would be your dream pro professional dance partner for her? Let us know in the comment section.
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Carly Fears Escalating Tensions Between Sonny and Josslyn: ‘I’ve Already Lost One Kid Because of That Man. I Won’t Lose Another’
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers
Y&R’s New Head Writers Share Vision for Genoa City: Contemporary Homage to Bill Bell, Mixing Heightened Escapism and Grounded Reality
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
‘Days of our Lives’ Kyle Pryor Debuts as Dominic Marino and Says of Alleged TV Mom, “Deidre Hall is the Absolute OG, Amazing” (Exclusive)
‘Days of our Lives’ Celebrates 61st Anniversary: EP Ken Corday Teases New Character’s Arrival in Spring 2027
‘General Hospital’s’ Cynthia Watros Honors Former ‘Titus’ Co-Star Stacy Keach Following His Passing
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
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