OT/All My Children facing cancellation

Deadline Reports on Possible Cancellation of All My Children
By Jamey Giddens on March 21, 2011




Remember when I told you ABC would be making some "major decisions"
about the future of its daytime lineup before the second quarter of
2011 (which starts at the beginning of April)? Well, it looks like
Hollywood's most powerful blog is hearing the exact same thing.
Deadline is reporting ABC is considering trimming its soap opera lineup, and that All My Children appears most vulnerable.

All My Children appears to be the most vulnerable for
cancellation, and there is speculation that it may be replaced by a a
talk show in the fall. All My Children, which is in its 41st year on
the air, recently posted two weeks of back-to-back all-time lows in the
key Women 18-49 demographic, in which it is dead last among the 6
daytime dramas on the air, drawing paltry 463,000 for the week of March
7, down 34% vs. last year. For the same week, All My Children was also
last in total viewers, averaging 2.32 million. (ABC's One Life to Live
did only marginally better with 2.36 million.) One reason for ABC to
keep its 3 daytime dramas on the air was the fact that they were
getting a second window on sibling cable channel SOAPnet. But with
SOAPnet changing its format to the preschool-centered Disney Junior
next year, Disney-ABC is clearly scaling back on its commitment to
soaps, and the daytime lineup on the broadcast network will probably be
next.

I hear ABC's One Life to Live tested better than both General Hospital and
All My Children via data from a recent, annual marketing study ABC Daytime conducts.
Could the results of the marketing study, coupled with OLTL's stellar budget
management, be helping it stay on the air?

I hate to see any soap go, but if ABC does have to make a cut, it only makes sense that it would be AMC.
While I think the Agnes Nixon creation has made a slight creative turnaround in the last six months
under current head writers David Kreizman and Donna Swajeski,
OLTL makes more sense to keep on the air from a fiscal stand and enjoys
cult fan fave status among soap viewers. Meanwhile, no one ever really
thought GH was in any immediate danger, did they? I can't wait to see
if ABC responds to Deadline's report like they always do mine...

Forgiveness Man wrote:Merging soaps would be THE worst idea ever.

Chris wrote:The move to LA, the one that was supposed to save costs, is what I think killed the show. AMC and GH are routinely overbudget; whereas OLTL isn't. It would be ironic to see OLTL, the show that some claim is the one ABC has little devotion to, be one of the five soaps left standing.