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Why was OLTL sacrificed in the daytime line-up when its ratings were up & at creative high?

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Associated Television International’s, Jim Romanovich took to posting his latest thought-provoking blog at Baseline Intelligence.  In it, Romanovich brings to light and for discussion, why One Life to Live was also canceled along with All My Children when clearly the show was higher in the ratings, creatively successful, and under budget.  Was it perhaps that ABC was set to cancel it all along and not AMC, and then OLTL out performed AMC at every level thus causing the network a conundrum? Did ABC make OLTL a sacrificial lamb? Here are just a few excerpts from Jim, but we encourage you to read his entire post.

Romanovich: “So what’s with the urgency that both of these shows have to go… like yesterday?  ABC spent millions of dollars on bringing All My Children to Los Angeles in what appeared to be the biggest show of support for the soaps since we took over the Daytime Emmys. At the time, I truly believed ABC felt that way too.  I believed that this was the only way to save both this show and One Life To Live.  Maybe on the surface that’s what they had hoped. But it seems apparent to me that deep down they knew then that One Life was down to its last life.  This was just borrowed time until they could find the show to replace it.  Essentially ABC was telling Frank Valentini to make bricks without straw.  He made the Taj Mahal instead much to ABC’s shock.  By being the lone soap in NY without any real support system the network felt that if they left it alone, it would die on its own.  But it didn’t.  It rose in the ratings!  Creatively, it was by far the best storytelling soap around that utilized its whole canvas of talent equally.  The whole cast and crew brought their A game every single time and the viewers…noticed!  When I grow up, I want to be Frank Valentini because the man is simply amazing to me.”

“The following is my opinion of what I think must have occurred with the cancellation of both soaps as I can think of nothing else that makes sense. What the network was not prepared for was the diminishing ratings of All My Children. When ABC chose this show to be relocated to Los Angeles, they seemed to put great faith into its longevity while knowing that one of their soaps, the New York one, was going to be sacrificed eventually.  When One Life started pulling ahead of All My Children, ABC had a little bit of a conundrum.  How could they now seriously cancel One Life, which they were planning to do all along at some point, and spare All My Children?  They felt the backlash would have been so monumental that it would have been a PR disaster.  So they did something that they felt that would get some serious backlash, but one that was easier to explain.  Cancel them both and place two other shows quickly in those slots and say that this new direction adheres to the current daytime audience that prefers shows with some take away value.  This way, it doesn’t sound personal.  If they tanked One Life which is doing well and kept AMC which is not doing quite so well, then that comes across as personal to the fans in the network’s thinking.”

“With regards to the cancellations of One Life To Live and All My Children, the network acted too hastily and was nowhere near prepared for the onslaught of criticism that was to follow.  I had always believed that soaps on daytime television were living on borrowed time, but that didn’t mean the end of their time.  It meant that these shows were ready to be placed elsewhere.  I still think SoapNet could have been a success if Disney had planned on making it a success.  I’d say forget Disney Jr., which is redundant anyway, and keep SoapNet or at least re-brand it and make it the place to find your daytime soaps twice a day and other shows that have that same flavor and style that appeal to that demo. Everybody loves soaps.  Hell, the NBA finals are nothing more than soap opera! Build upon what Night Shift started and create other soaps.  The new re-branded SoapNet could continue on in new ways. I like what they did for the web with the What If… series and could see that kind of forward thinking evolve into television or maybe even break the fourth wall more often like One Life did with their Glee episodes or The Bold and Beautiful did with their homeless story. But this is all just wishful thinking as the audience is there and those with the power don’t see it.”

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People grow up I said it before.. Frons was purposely sabotaging the soaps so they would fail… He thought He had harmed OLTL enough that it would fail all on its own.. but the show broke out running once frons left it for dead… When he quit meddling the soap took off… He Frons moved Amc to California so he could have it close to GH and work on killing them both at the same time.. He has really Fuck General Hospital up… and he did the same to all my children.. If you look at both shows and why they failed or are failing you can see that one hand has left its hand print the soaps were not to prosper… That is not the way Frons wants or wanted it.. He has his own idea for day time… I am so done with ABC and really done with Disney for letting him get away with this… I guess Mickey is quite the little Rat bastard.. And i hope people have enough sense to boycott Disney along with ABC. Because they didn’t care about the fans they cared about the dollars they could save by doing horrible reality t.v.

kudos to my son who opened for snoop dog in ALLENTOWN PA.. they were Nik nemesis crew. any way I was going to try to get to snoop Dog and hand him a sign which said save our soaps… I couldn’t get past the bigger then NFL players (body guards) In any Event its not just the little people who love the soaps… if someone larger then life could just speak up and help-GOD how nice would that be….

Amen and Amen…..

In the final analysis – it doesn’t really matter how you slice it and dice it…….
Unless by some eleventh hour miracle – both shows will be gone within months.
Sad,sad,sad.

I personally would rather watch repeat episodes from the humble beginnings of both shows (though I do profess -I love OLTL more),than to watch the proposed shows that are going to air in AMC and OLTL’s time slot.
And frankly I won’t be watching.

Time will tell …..and I think ABC,Brian Frons,Disney et al – will rue the day they made their decision.

I think they may -nay THEY HAVE committed network suicide.

Tragic !!

Oops! Computer hiccuped !!

NO DOUBT THEY HAVE COMMITTED SUICIDE-TWO FAILED REPLACEMENTS FOR OUR SHOWS.THEY THINK WE WILL GET OVER IT NOOOOOOOOO! THE REST OF THE PEOPLE WATCH DAY TIME REPLACEMENT SHOWS FAT MARIO SWEATING OVER FOOD AND DR,OZ 20 SOMETHING DAUGHTER HOSTING BECAUSE SHE IS HIS DAUGHTER AND WROTE CAMPUS DIET.HOW HORRIBLE TV IS THAT.

Actually All My Children was doing poorly before the move and they thought it could be resurrected with more energy. One Life To Live has been placing higher for some time.

The fact is that ABC/Disney barely did any advertising at all for OLTL and still it managed to climb higher and higher because of savvy writing dealing with social and civic issues and some of the best talent on daytime.

It is further reported that it was Frons intention from the get-go to get these shows off the air which is further supported by the lack of advertising and marketing, or getting the actors on talk shows to promote the shows.

If someone wanted to not only save them, but the bring ratings up and more money in, the fix would have been very easy and would required the least little bit of creativity and desire.

As I too am saddened , A show Called INSTANT STAR wasnt allowed for be finished fulling ITS potential yet a petition as well as fans of the CTV TV Series still remain in hope for it. Just a COMPLETION of a SEASON 5 (NOT ASKING FOR THE WORLD )www.saveinstantstar.com

I am sorry to hear about the dual cancellation of AMC and OLTL. However, I was a regular watcher of As The World Turns and not of these serials. I was really bothered by the cancellation of ATWT, a show which had a far longer history than either of these shows and still was viable. Frankly, it irks me that the cancellation of ATWT received little attention while the cancellation of AMC and OLT appears to leave viewers irate (cancelled by their v. Both the producers, writers, actors, and fans should have realized that the warnings they were getting when ATWT was cancelled.

I was a fan of Atwt turns also. It wasnt owned by cbs. It wasnt doing well ratings wise when cancelled. It was terrible that it had to go off when luke and reid were really gaining steam. Its cancellation didnt resonate because it wasnt 2 at once. This is a network getting out of the soap business. Oltl is the last ny soap and really signals the end of an era. I still will never watch the talk. Im am still mad.

Folks, you are delusional. CBS cancelled two soaps, and they are still the number one network the last time I checked. And being the second highest rated show out of six low-rated shows is NOT an accomplishment. There is no huge “outcry”, either. There was a protest at ABC a few weeks ago, and a whopping 30 people showed up!

Low-rated shows get cancelled all the time.

All My Children

51st Daytime Emmys: Mark Consuelos and Kelly Ripa Receive Talk Show Host Nominations

On Thursday, nominations were announced in the Outstanding Talk Show category for the upcoming 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards. 

Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo, All My Children) coming off his first-year as co-host of ‘Live” with real-life wife, Kelly Ripa scored his first Talk Show Host nomination along with Ripa who has been nominated previous times.

Joining Mark and Kelly in the race are: Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, The View
Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell, Sheryl Underwood, The Talk and
Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall.

Photo: CBS

As previously reported, The Talk is coming to its end when its upcoming 15th and final season ends in December of 2024.

The 51st annual Daytime Emmys are slated to be broadcast and stream live on CBS and Paramount+ on Friday night, June 7th

Look for the full list of nominations to drop on Friday morning at 12 noon ET/9 am PT.

So, are you rooting for Kelly and Mark to win their first Talk Show host award together? Comment below.

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All My Children

Mark Consuelos Celebrates One-Year Anniversary as Co-Host of ‘Live’ Alongside Kelly Ripa

Today, April 17th marks a full-year since Mark Consuelos (ex-Mateo, All My Children) took over the co-hosting duties of ‘Live” alongside his wife, and longtime co-host, Kelly Ripa (ex-Hayley, All My Children).

Consuelos replaced Ryan Seacrest who are six seasons decided to be back on the west coast full-time. For Consuelos, now having the opportunity to work off of Ripa as co-hosts has been something of adjustment for him, but viewers have been eating it up.

Live with Kelly and Mark has remained the No. 1 entertainment talk show on television over the past year, growing 3% in average total viewers to 2.23M per episode.  It is also the most-watched daytime talk show in the last year in key demos of women 18-49 and women 25-54. All of this, since the real-life marrieds teamed-up.

Photo: ABC

Speaking with Deadline, Kelly Ripa shared why the two are gelling on-screen, “I do think that there is something very possibly relatable about our relationship. We have disagreements like a normal couple, and we’re not afraid to let them unfold on the air and in front of America, and I think people find a lot of themselves in that.”

Mark weighed in how he has progressed as a host, and what he could improve at, sharing, “I’d like to get better at my interviewing skills. I’d like to get better at reading a teleprompter…I think I’m getting better at throwing to commercial. The other day in the middle of the show as we go to commercial, my sign off was ‘See you guys around.’ I mean, the show wasn’t over. The most obvious thing to say would be, ‘We’ll be back right after this.’ But I just said, ‘See you around.’ So we went to commercial and one of the producers (goes) ‘What was that?’ I don’t know… So for the next few sign offs, as a joke, I’d say ‘See you around.’ We got a kick out of it.”

Photo: ABC

Meanwhile, Kelly has given huge props to Mark, “I find Mark utterly compelling, really interesting, super funny, and he’s bold in a way like nobody else. He says what’s on his mind. If he’s thinking it, he says it.  I’ve done this a long time and oftentimes people will adjust their natural personalities to pander to what they think the audience wants to hear, and Mark will tell people what he thinks, and he doesn’t care if it’s not a popular opinion. It gives him an edginess that I think is really missing in the landscape today. Everybody’s so afraid to say anything, and Mark is unafraid to say exactly what he’s thinking.”

In a statement, Debra O’Connell, President News Group and Networks, Disney Entertainment shared, We could not be more thrilled with how Mark has seamlessly joined the show family as permanent co-host. His undeniable charisma and his and Kelly’s natural chemistry are evident as they deliver the laughs and smiles to our viewers each morning. We are incredibly proud of how Live has continued to evolve and that the audience is responding so enthusiastically.”

So, do you think Mark Consuelos is the best co-host his wife Kelly Ripa has ever had on ‘Live’? How would you say he is doing as co-host after one full year on the job? Comment below.

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All My Children

Susan Lucci Joins the Cast of Jonah Hill’s Movie ‘Outcome’

Look who will be part of the ensemble cast in motion picture and film star Jonah Hill’s new film project! That’s right, none other than Susan Lucci (ex-Erica, All My Children).

According to Deadline, the daytime television icon joins other notables including Laverne Cox and David Spade who have been added to the cast of Outcome. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Matt Bomer (ex-Ben, Guiding Light) and Cameron Diaz.

In Outcome, which is written by, and will be directed by Hill, the dark comedy centers around Reef (played by Reeves), a damaged Hollywood star who must dive into the dark depths of his past to confront his demons and make amends after he is extorted with a mysterious video clip from his past.

Photo: JPI

Soap fans know that following her iconic run as All My Children’s Erica Kane, Susan went on to be featured in Lifetime’s Devious Maids in the role of Genevieve Delatour.  Since her Pine Valley days ended (when AMC was canceled in 2012), Susan has appeared in numerous shows and made numerous appearances.  n December of 2023, Lucci was awarded the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Photo: JPI

Outcome will debut on Apple and is an Apple Studios production. The film marks the latest collaboration for Hill and Apple Original Films, who are also developing a Grateful Dead biopic with Martin Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions, to be directed by Scorsese, with Hill starring in it and as one of the producers of the project, as well.

So, intrigued to see what kind of role Susan plays in Jonah Hill’s new film ‘Outcome’? Comment below.

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