SOAP OPERA UNCENSORED
Volume 02, Issue 17 (No. 27)
BY NELSON BRANCO
Copyright 2012 Nelson Branco
INSIDE — Nadia Bjorlin Exclusive: Is She Back on DAYS or Not? Find Out! Exclusive Interview with B&B’s Katherine Kelly Lang: Her Myriad Emmy Snubs; Bill Bell and His Legacy; Brooke’s Scandalous Sexual Past; And Why She’s Looking For a New TV Gig! Deets: Another ABC UpFront Fan Rally! May Sweeps Fearless Predictions! Rumour: Is Y&R’s Cane Tucker’s son? Is Y&R’s Julia Pace Mitchell Out? Ewww-Alert: Part Two of Y&R’s Sharon and Victor! Y&R: New Opening Credits! Blind Item: Another Major Star Bolting? Did GH fire Brandon Barash? Every Week: Fearless Predictions! Plus: Last Week's Reviews, Unbelievable Blind Items, and Next Week's Cheat Sheet!
UNCENSORED MASTHEAD:
FOUNDER/EDITOR: Nelson Branco
EDITOR AT LARGE: Denette Wilford
Follow Soap Opera Uncensored at: @nelliebranco or @SoapUncensored
NOTE FROM EDITOR/FOUNDER:
You asked — and it’s happening. For more information on subscribing to daytime’s first weekly e-zine SOAP OPERA UNCENSORED, email
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PRE-ORDER BETWEEN HEAVEN & HELL: A ONE LIFE TO LIVE TRIBUTE
Hi, loyal soaper!
UNCENSORED QUOTES OF THE WEEK:
“Listen, I hope ABC hangs on to it. If they don’t, they’re just going to lose the entire audience; they’ll go somewhere else. It doesn’t make sense to me. They didn’t ask me to go [to GH].”
—Ex-AMC stud Thorsten Kaye in SOAP OPERA DIGEST
Translation: But I’m a smash on another show!
“Brian Frons would make these weird decisions about firing people that didn’t make any sense, that didn’t help the show any. But it kind of seems like that’s what he wanted. So, congratulations.”
—Kaye in the same interview
Translation: Angelica Huston thanks you, Brian.
“There’s going to be a lot of upheaval, intrigue, mystery, and romance. We’re going to address some secrets that have been hidden away for many, many years.”
—Y&R co-head writer Scott Hamner previews May Sweeps in SOAPS IN DEPTH
Translation: Like how I’ve kept my job for all this time!
FALL OF THE MOUSE HOUSE
Another ABC Upfront Rally
A year later, Soap Fans United and Fans United Against ABC are combining forces this year to revisit one of the most successful moments in the history of the Save Our Soaps movement — the ABC/Disney Upfront Rally in New York City.
The rally will be held for a second year on May 15, 2012 outside Lincoln Center from 12 to 6 p.m. to target advertisers arriving at Avery Fisher Hall for ABC’s Upfront Presentation.
At last year’s rally, fans let ABC/Disney know they had no intention of watching its less expensive replacement shows for the cancelled soaps ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Viewers’ voices were heard loud and clear by ABC/Disney management when the network cancelled ONE LIFE’s replacement show, THE REVOLUTION, after only three months on air and decided to keep its one remaining soap, GENERAL HOSPITAL, as a valuable lead-in for Katie Couric’s new afternoon talk show.
Fans will be rallying to send a strong message to ABC/Disney advertisers that their consumer dollars will be following soap operas, regardless of where they air.
Soap operas continue to attract larger audiences than the cheaper talk shows replacing them. Fans and industry insiders are adamant there are other viable production models for these shows. Based on ratings data and viewer engagement metrics, fans believe resuming production of AMC and ONE LIFE is in the best interest of ABC/Disney, its advertisers and affiliates. Current articles in DEADLINE, FORBES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, THE NEW YORK POST, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, GLOBE MAGAZINE, SOAP OPERA DIGEST, HUFFINGTON POST, and other mainstream publications question ABC/Disney’s decision-making process and demonstrate the impact of fans.
Advertisers such as Hoover, who withdrew all advertising from ABC/Disney in April 2011, understand and are reaping the benefits of responding to consumer feedback. As a result of THE CHEW and THE REVOLUTION’s failure to attract viewers in the key demographic, ABC affiliates are forced to provide free, prime-time advertising slots to meet advertisers’ contractual guarantees. Finally, according to Marc Berman’s website TV MEDIA INSIGHTS, ABC/Disney has seen a reduction in its prime-time ratings, presumably as a result of soap fans boycotting its non-soap programming.