ABC Daytime President on Soaps: 'The Strongest Will Survive'

ABC Daytime President on Soaps: 'The Strongest Will Survive'
Published: April 14, 2011 @ 2:38 pm
By Tim Molloy

ABC's president of daytime says the cancellation of "One Life to Live"
and "All My Children" doesn't foreshadow the death of all soaps.

"It's like any other genre on TV, the strongest will survive," Brian Frons
told TheWrap. "Right now we're down to the last few that are still
strong and viable and economically sound."


ABC will replace the soaps, both more than four decades old, with
the new lifestyle shows "The Chew" and "The Revolution." The
cancellations leave just four soaps on the air, including ABC's
"General Hospital."

We talked to Frons about his expectations for the new shows, why he
won't bring either soap back, and what their creator, Agnes Nixon,
expected from them at the beginning.

Is there still a place for soaps?
I think the
soap operas that are strong, "The Young and the Restless" on CBS and
"General Hospital" on ABC, still have a good place in the hearts.

Can you make any commitment to keep "General Hospital" on the air?
As long as we have good ratings it will stay in the lineup.

What qualifies as good? Is there a baseline?
No, it doesn't work like that. It's an algebraic equation of cost ad
revenue and the revenue of course is represented by ratings. So as long
as they can continue to produce the show in a smart way and bring in
viewers it'll be here on ABC.

How much do "The Chew" and "The Revolution" cost compared to the soaps?
They're about 30 to 40 percent less than the soaps. ... I don't want to
get into the dollars and cents of it but I think that's a fair way to
say it. Certainly to frame it up for any general readers to understand
that these are a significantly cheaper way to schedule the day part.

And you anticipate the same ratings or better?
Initially we actually expect a little lower and then we hope for growth
as time goes on. You take a look at the history of "The View," you know
the ratings were low at the beginning and it took a while for them to
be what they are today.

Some fans will almost definitely lobby to get these shows back on the air. Is there any way that will happen?
No. We really spent a lot of time learning from our success with "The
View," talking to viewers about what they're looking for and we have
tremendous respect for the passion of our serial fans. But we're at a
point with these two shows, as much as they've done for the network,
and as much as we appreciate them -- their time here has come to an
end. And we're going to spend our efforts trying to make a success out
of the two new shows, "The Chew" and "The Revolution," which are in
genres that, as we talk to viewers, they want more of.