After the horrific cancelling of daytime anchor soap operas “One Life to Live” and “All My Children” (RIP to both!), fans of the shows have been sending their pleas to the Queen of Media, Oprah Winfrey. Their request: put the soap operas on the OWN Network.
But, according to TVLine, Oprah has put the hammer down on said request. In a video (embedded below), Oprah states: “I understand the loyalty, the sense of disappointment…[b]ut here is the
[deep] bone-marrow truth: There are just not enough people who are at home in the daytime to watch them, and because of that, they’re going off the air.”
She went on to say, “I will not be taking on the responsibility of trying to revive an institution that for all intents and purposes indicates the time has come for it to be over…Thank you for thinking I could save them, but I really can’t.”
It was a long shot to call out to Oprah for help, but it make a bit of sense, especially since reports show that her fledgling network is seriously lagging behind in the ratings; the soap operas might have given her network a bit of an uptick. At least that’s what it seems like to this blogger, who is outside of the inner workings of television business. At any rate, I understand why Oprah won’t go out of her way to save the soap operas: it’s not her fight to fight, not necessarily.
But, it’s also a little weird even for ABC, and by extension, Oprah, to say that no one watches soaps. With the huge outpouring of sadness, somebody had to have been watching soaps in the daytime. And even if many fans weren’t watching the shows in the daytime, they could’ve been recording the shows on their DVRs, watching them online, or even buying them on iTunes. So it’s very possible ABC didn’t take into account the online presence soaps have in the entertainment landscape.
And, there is still “Days of our Lives” on NBC, “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless” on CBS, (granted, they got rid of “As the World Turns”), and even “General Hospital” (JAMES FRANCO), which is on ABC.
Here’s a solution: what about putting the soaps on SOAPNet? That still exists, right? Put the shows on the all-soap network. Makes sense.
And if daytime’s such a dead timeslot, why would ABC think anyone’s going to watch their new lifestyle shows? They’re taking the same slot–how can a different show revive the same so-called “dead” slot?
What do you guys think? Sound off below.
very sad. I record it on my dvr and look forward to my down time at nite to watch them. I will not be watching anymore talk shows or reality shows. They are going overboard with them. Dr. Phil is the only other talk show besides Oprah that I record. I would love some other network to pick them up. Look at how many people are going to lose their jobs. Very sad.
very sad. I record it on my dvr and look forward to my down time at nite to watch them. I will not be watching anymore talk shows or reality shows. They are going overboard with them. Dr. Phil is the only other talk show besides Oprah that I record. I would love some other network to pick them up. Look at how many people are going to lose their jobs. Very sad.
yea u cant do anything right Oprah
ur right Dr, Phil is the 1 good thing she did in life she needs to give up