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Guiding Light update: the "Light" still flickers

B

bpatrick

I've seen in TV Guide and on Guiding Light's
website that more actors are out: the actors
playing Michelle, Cassie, and Edmund are gone.
Also, Jerry Ver Dorn (Ross) is now on One Life
To Live; his last GL appearance will be Oct. 14,
and then Ross will just disappear without explanation
or a sendoff; no new actor will be hired to replace
Ver Dorn.

Also, Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin has resigned as executive
in charge of production at Procter & Gamble, which also
produces As The World Turns. This, says TV Guide, indicates
that CBS intends to take creative control of the shows.
GL has also started a podcast (yes, you may have to start
paying to see the show).

Barring the possibility that P&G sells its two shows to
CBS (God forbid, unless there are better people there than
in the late '60s, when CBS bought Secret Storm from American
Home Products and proceeded to destroy it), or GL moves to
SoapNet (markd, you'd finally get to see it), I give GL one
year at the most.

But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if all nine soaps
eventually end up on SoapNet; the affiliates would love the
time for more courtroom shows and trash talk.

I know, this is the second time I've started a thread on
GL's future. It's hardly an obsession, however. I just
hate to think that an American institution older than
most people now alive may be coming to
an end. Think about this: if you could go back in time to
1940 and do a survey with this question, What one show now on
the networks will still be on the networks in 2005?, how many people
do you think could guess the correct answer? <P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by bpatrick on 09/24/05 10:23 PM.</FONT></P>
 
>
> But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if all nine soaps
> eventually end up on SoapNet; the affiliates would love the
> time for more courtroom shows and trash talk.
>
Has SoapNet ever shown first-run soaps (other than recent repeats)? I don't have the channel (it's on a digital package that I don't have), though I pictured SoapNet as a "TV Land" for soaps.
 
> >
> > But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if all nine soaps
> > eventually end up on SoapNet; the affiliates would love
> the
> > time for more courtroom shows and trash talk.
> >
> Has SoapNet ever shown first-run soaps (other than recent
> repeats)? I don't have the channel (it's on a digital
> package that I don't have), though I pictured SoapNet as a
> "TV Land" for soaps.
>
Not to my knowledge. However, if the ratings for soaps in
general on ABC, CBS, and NBC get much lower, soap producers
might want to try to persuade SoapNet to air first-run episodes.
That might, however, be a problem for CBS, since none of its
daytime soaps air on SoapNet (they do carry reruns of Dallas
and Knots Landing, I believe). But this is speculation both
on my part and on that of some of the people posting to GL's
website.
 
> > >
> > > But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if all nine
> soaps
> > > eventually end up on SoapNet; the affiliates would love
> > the
> > > time for more courtroom shows and trash talk.
> > >
> > Has SoapNet ever shown first-run soaps (other than recent
> > repeats)? I don't have the channel (it's on a digital
> > package that I don't have), though I pictured SoapNet as a
>
> > "TV Land" for soaps.
> >
> Not to my knowledge. However, if the ratings for soaps in
> general on ABC, CBS, and NBC get much lower, soap producers
> might want to try to persuade SoapNet to air first-run
> episodes.
> That might, however, be a problem for CBS, since none of its
>
> daytime soaps air on SoapNet (they do carry reruns of Dallas
>
> and Knots Landing, I believe). But this is speculation both
>
> on my part and on that of some of the people posting to GL's
>
> website.

You're both somewhat right.

Here is the SoapNet schedule (from OnSat and SoapNet's website), all times Eastern:
Mon-Fri
6:00a Soap Talk (original program)
7:00 All My Children (previous day's episode)
8:00 One Life to Live (previous day's episode)
9:00 General Hospital (previous day's episode)
10:00 Days of Our Lives (previous day's episode)
11:00 Soap Talk (replay of 6:00am)
12:00p Port Charles
12:30 Ryan's Hope
1:00 Another World
2:00 Dynasty
3:00 Dallas
4:00 Knots Landing
5:00 Beverly Hills 90210
6:00 Melrose Place
7:00 Days of Our Lives (today's episode)
8:00 All My Children (today's episode)
9:00 One Life to Live (today's episode)
10:00 General Hospital (today's episode)
11:00 Soap Talk (replay of 6:00am)
12:00a Dallas (replay of 3:00pm)
1:00 All My Children (previous day's episode)
2:00 One Life to Live (previous day's episode)
3:00 General Hospital (previous day's episode)
4:00 Port Charles (replay of 12:00pm)
4:30 Ryan's Hope (replay of 12:30pm)
5:00 Another World (replay of 1:00pm)

Saturday
6:00a Soap Talk (replay of week's best show)
7:00 Beverly Hills 90210 (three episodes, separate arc from weekdays)
10:00 Melrose Place (two episodes, separate arc from weekdays)
12:00p Soapography (original program)
12:30 One Day With ... (original program)
1:00 General Hospital (previous week's shows, in order)
6:00p Soapography (replay of 12:00pm)
6:30 One Day With ... (replay of 12:30pm)
7:00 Dallas (two episodes, separate arc from weekdays)
9:00 Knots Landing (two episodes, separate arc from weekdays)
11:00 Dynasty (two episodes, separate arc from weekdays)
1:00a All My Children (previous week's shows, in order)

Sunday
6:00a Soap Talk (replay of week's best show)
7:00 One Life to Live (previous week's shows, in order)
12:00p Soap Talk (replay of week's best show)
1:00 All My Children (previous week's shows, in order)
6:00p Soapography (replay of Saturday)
6:30 One Day With ... (replay of Saturday)
7:00 Days of Our Lives (previous week's shows, in order)
12:00a Soapography (replay of 6:00pm)
12:30 One Day With ... (replay of 6:30pm)
1:00 General Hospital (previous week's shows, in order)

At least, no infomercials ...<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
> I've seen in TV Guide and on Guiding Light's
> website that more actors are out: the actors
> playing Michelle, Cassie, and Edmund are gone.
> Also, Jerry Ver Dorn (Ross) is now on One Life
> To Live; his last GL appearance will be Oct. 14,
> and then Ross will just disappear without explanation
> or a sendoff; no new actor will be hired to replace
> Ver Dorn.
>
> Also, Mary Alice Dwyer-Dobbin has resigned as executive
> in charge of production at Procter & Gamble, which also
> produces As The World Turns. This, says TV Guide, indicates
>
> that CBS intends to take creative control of the shows.
> GL has also started a podcast (yes, you may have to start
> paying to see the show).
>
> Barring the possibility that P&G sells its two shows to
> CBS (God forbid, unless there are better people there than
> in the late '60s, when CBS bought Secret Storm from American
>
> Home Products and proceeded to destroy it), or GL moves to
> SoapNet (markd, you'd finally get to see it), I give GL one
> year at the most.
>
> But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if all nine soaps
> eventually end up on SoapNet; the affiliates would love the
> time for more courtroom shows and trash talk.
>
> I know, this is the second time I've started a thread on
> GL's future. It's hardly an obsession, however. I just
> hate to think that an American institution older than
> most people now alive may be coming to
> an end. Think about this: if you could go back in time to
> 1940 and do a survey with this question, What one show now
> on
> the networks will still be on the networks in 2005?, how
> many people
> do you think could guess the correct answer?
>
I can't see any possible way SoapNet, a digital cable network, ends up with any exclusive original dramas (i.e., new episodes). The economics just don't work.

I think, sadly, the handwriting is on the wall for Guiding Light, and as an institution in its genre and for broadcasting in general, that is a shame. It's managed to hang on longer than I thought after the major O&Os demoted it do day-late morning plays (and what a horrible lead in here in Philadelphia...I mean seriously, a repeat hour of Entertainment Tonight/Inside Edition...THAT'S the best they can do?).

While affiliates would love the time back, the common rumor would have them getting only 30 minutes back, expanding B&B to an hour (bad move, I think--it's appeal is the faster paced storytelling of a half-hour show). But, unlike the almighty General Hospital, I can't see anyone who has demoted GL reconsidering their schedule for As The World Turns...so everyone can start death watch #2 on them. (I'll take 2 seasons if anyone is running a pool.)

Then there's always the guessing game about what happens to The Price is Right when Bob leaves...unless they plan to pull a Futurama and keep his head in a jar hosting the show for eternity.
 
Cancelation sounds Possible..not yet probable

Okay I got to answer this one.

As far back as 1995 I have heard rumors of the cancelation of Guiding light. I also heard Bold & Beautiful would eventually go to an hour. I also heard Guiding Light would reduce to 30 minutes while Bold would go to an hour.

Could this be why the network was not pushing KOVR to run it??? Hey one of the managers at the station I spoke to stated that KOVR will be running CBS's entire schedule eventually. And I asked even Guiding Light? And the answer was as long as CBS still offers it and plans on it for the long term. Come to think of it...sounds wierd...is something up...You may be right on this one.

So yes the hints are there. Reminds me of Fox and Fox Kids...When the ability to sell Fox kids became tough by 1998 Fox no longer obligated their affiliates to air the entire weekday block. In Memphis, Salt lake City and St Louis only 2 hours of the block was run starting in 1998 and in 1999 when the block went down to 2 and a half hours nationally O & O stations that ran kids shows all their existance trimmed thgeir offering to an even 2 hours. In 2000 St Louis and Memphis dropped the weekday block and ran it on an abreviated basis (just first runs and no reruns)on Sundays. Also when it (and even the Saturday morning block) fell off WB 21 WTTO in 2000 Fox did not make 6 WBRC pick it up. They did not even pick up Saturday Morning Fox Kids.

In 2001 the block was officially timmed to 2 hours and even long time O & O stations dropped it and had it run on their newly acquired UPN stations. By then most affiliates wanted out and it fell off at the end of 2001 in Atlanta, Austin, and Greensboro. Fox did not force their stations to pick it up. The rumors it was being canceled were out since 1998. Finally Fox canceled the Fox Kids at the beginning of 2002 offereing 4 hours of reruns on Saturday mornings for stations that did not have anything else to run.

So when Fox stopped making its O & O stations run the cartoons in 1997 and allowed partial preemptions in 1998...the writing was on the wall. Fox Kids was dying.

While I dont watch cartoons except for The Flintstones and The Simpsons it saddens me not to see kids shows on broadcast TV. When New World alligned with Fox I was really hoping for Fox Kids to go there and the Fox Kids to grow in ratings even more. In fact Kids TV made big bucks back in 1994. 5 years later stations known for cartoons are ready to exit the kid business because selling these shows is impossible. Still I would like to see childrens shows on 2 local broadcast stations 6-9 AM and 2-5 PM weekdays.

At ABC Port Charles was doing poorly. A third of affiliates were running it on overnights and about a dozen did not run it at all. Then in the Summer of 2003 WABC TV picked up Millionaire and put Port Charles on Overnights. Days later ABC announced they were canceling port Charles that Fall. Also for years and years ABC ran various shows at noon/11 AM Central Mountain Pacific. When ABC was sold to Capital Cities they continued to preempt this time slot on its originally owned ABC affiliates (Cap Cities ABC stations prior to the merger).

Finally when The Home Show expanded in 1990 to 90 minutes most ABC affiliates that ran it at all ran only an hour...even several O & O stations. Finally ABC just gave the Noon slot back to local stations. Many then still ran only 30 minutes of Home and then Mike & Maty. It was not until the show morphed into The View that ABC affiliates stopped wide preemptions.

So if Guiding Light is in the danger you state, maybe alot of affiliates want to drop the show. Even a few O & O stations probably may rather not run it. If that is the case maybe dropping it nationwide would be the right thing to do. Maybe that is why CBS is not all that anxious to get it on KOVR. Why add a show that wont be there in 14 months? Well Tribune did it with WGN TV and Kids WB in 2004.
 
> > > >
> > > > But then again, I wouldn't be surprised if all nine
> > soaps
> > > > eventually end up on SoapNet; if the ratings for soaps in
>
> > general on ABC, CBS, and NBC get much lower, soap
> producers
> > might want to try to persuade SoapNet to air first-run
> > episodes.
> > That might, however, be a problem for CBS, since none of
> its
> >
> > daytime soaps air on SoapNet (they do carry reruns of
> Dallas
> >
> > and Knots Landing)
>
> At least, no infomercials ...
>
And there's also those limited-run reality eps of I Wanna be a Soapstar...

The lady that heads up SoapNet (can't remember her name) has insisted back to the time that SN got the rerun rights to Another World, that the suits will back an SN 2 channel. She has said more recently that she wants to see more carriage of the current SoapNet channel among cable systems before going ahead with an SN 2. She is well aware there has been fan demand for more reruns (Edge of Night, Santa Barbara, Search for Tomorrow, etc) as well as same-days of CBS soaps. Those would fit perfectly on an SN 2.
 
Re: Cancelation sounds Possible..not yet probable

> Okay I got to answer this one.
>
> As far back as 1995 I have heard rumors of the cancelation
> of Guiding light. I also heard Bold & Beautiful would
> eventually go to an hour. I also heard Guiding Light would
> reduce to 30 minutes while Bold would go to an hour.
>
> Could this be why the network was not pushing KOVR to run
> it??? Hey one of the managers at the station I spoke to
> stated that KOVR will be running CBS's entire schedule
> eventually. And I asked even Guiding Light? And the answer
> was as long as CBS still offers it and plans on it for the
> long term. Come to think of it...sounds wierd...is something
> up...You may be right on this one.
>
>
Although on my first thread on this subject I said that CBS
had renewed GL until 2007, I'm now seeing on the show's
discussion board that the renewal was for one year. In other
words, by this time next year all bets are off, and CBS can
exercise the option to cancel (and As The World Turns may not
be too far behind, especially if P&G gets out of the production
business, as it appears now they intend to do, and doesn't
sell the two shows). Regardless, CBS does have the option of
canceling GL and paying off P&G for the remainder of the
contract. My earlier scenario (a post-GL CBS daytime schedule)
had ATWT taking over the 10 AM/3 PM slot, but I'm starting to
think now that CBS just may follow NBC's lead and give 3 PM
(ET) back to the affiliates, leaving General Hospital in effect
unopposed (as Y&R is now on most Central, Mountain, and Pacific
stations and is for a half-hour in the East).

Two other points. Sacramento and Flint are still the only
markets where GL is pre-empted, AFAIK, nor have I heard of
any more stations downgrading it to 10 AM (ET); at least in
the South (except Orlando and Miami), GL is still a 3 PM (ET)/
2 PM (CT) show.

As for the show's moving to SoapNet, that was a suggestion by
someone posting to GL's chat site, the same person who suggested
that all the soaps may eventually move there if their ratings
continue to fall. After thinking about it, I have to agree it
doesn't seem feasible; SoapNet doesn't have the coverage the
Big Three networks have. But I don't see any reason why GL
and ATWT couldn't be rerun on SoapNet. Another World, also
a P&G show, is in reruns with episodes going back to the late
'80s; GL and ATWT could do the same thing.
 
Re: Cancelation sounds Possible..not yet probable

> Sacramento and Flint are still the only
> markets where GL is pre-empted...

Didn't Flint / Saginaw's WNEM run "Guiding Light" at 10AM at one point?
 
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