The Hollywood Reporter: "P&G Wants Out of Soaps"
The Hollywood Reporter's Roger Friedman posted a new online column on Guiding Light's demise basically claiming that P&G killed the soap on purpose.
P&G used to own several soaps. But they’ve wanted out of the business for a long time. Little by little, they’ve whittled their stable down to two shows. After “GL” is canceled, they’ll just have “As the World Turns.”
One trick for not turning viewer anger into displaced resentment toward P&G brands like Crest and Pringles: Turn the fans against the show so they won’t miss it. In the last few weeks, maybe thinking no one’s watching, the “GL” producers have made the remaining episodes unwatchable. They’ve allowed the actors to use coarse language generally unsuitable to network TV. You can only imagine older fans wincing when they hear “pissed off” or “douchebag” uttered by their favorite characters.
If Friedman's claims are true it would certainly explain P&G's head-scratching penchant for recycling habitual soap slayers from one soap to another.
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I'm sure P&G did want out of the soap industry I just wish he would have some facts to back it up.
The rest of the article is just silly. If he really wanted to do a piece about GL turning viewers away then maybe he should go a little further back than one week.
People saying douchebag isn't what kept viewers away, that happened a long time ago.
It would have been nice if it had a bit more depth.
This guy has obviously not been reading DC. Seriously, who considers "pissed off" that horrible these days?
GL fans would love to see the show continue. The writing has been great the last few months.
I think nearly everyone has guessed by now that P&G has wanted out of soaps, so not shocking news to me. The guy's article though, not a very good one, IMO.
One question though, wasn't there a rumor that a years ago CBS wanted to buy ATWT from P&G? Why didn't P&G just sell instead of "sabotage" their soaps and let them go so down hill if they wanted out? Was it some "we don't want em, but no one else can have em either" mentality?
I think ABC daytime is following in the footsteps of P&G's game of getting out from under soaps myself. Why cancel soaps and get millions of people mad at you, when you give them poorly written crap and make em flee on their own?
Just sayin... think about it!! Would you be able to continue to run a division of a company thats losing viewers and continually doing the exact opposite of fixing whats broken?
The article seems more like speculation than fact to me. Besides I don't think TPTB are intentionally sabotaging soaps. I think they are just incompetent and out of touch with viewers.
There is no way they are sabotatging soaps, because in doing that THEY are purposly loosing money, and money is what it is all about. Like AT50 says they are out of touch with viewers and the same old people have been hired since the 80's. What all the exec's at the production companies have to do is too look over Popular soaps in other countries, take EASTENDERS in the UK, By far better then ANY american daytime drama, even Y&R. They need to model off of how other POPULAR serials are produced and written. Then they need to market the soaps a lot better, why can't we have promo's in prime time? And why can't are soaps be in MID DAY time slots? I bet you any money if they did it right Y&R at 7:00PM at night, would bring in tons of new viewers, but the producers and executives are not going to do this or anything like this, BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO LAZY.
FYI: with all due respect, THEY ARE LOSING MONEY NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nelson, do you believe that this soaps will be done in the next four years?
Uhm, At50, what have you been watching? You don't think they want out? At times they used to produce three and four times the amount that they do today. Then, they continue to recycle the same bumbling babboons from soap to soap to murder them, and then cancel them. They have went from like 10+ soaps to now, one? And you think they don't want out? They're not stupid. They are a Fortune 500 company. So, if they really wanted to save there soap business, they would have 10 years ago.
Sorry if that sounded mean, but they sure are doing a hell of a poor ass job if they still care.
And like hunterforrestrer said, they've fckd up there tv division so bad now, they're having to dig deep in their pockets to produce what they have left. It's a crying shame.
I'm not saying they don't want out of the soap business. I just don't think they are intentionally sabotaging the writing. I think that has more to do with incompetence than anything else.
oh believe me hunterforrester i know they are losing money now, but they are not doing to it purposly, They just have no idea how to save the genre and to be honest no one cares, they produce what they have too, they cut the budget and hope that ratings will go up!? Which is just a disgrace! because this is one of the oldest story telling methods there is. (Too Bad they can't tell a damn story that is worthwhile and doesn't have us fans complaining)
Maybe so, but I'm sure they're smart enough to figure out that people would rather watch grass grow than watch their shit. I mean, it just really pisses me off ya know. These days are just hard on longtime soap fans, I suppose. Ahh
This show is good as dead now only if we can get some of this talent on amc.
In a year, you will be able to add both GL and ATWT to the lineup at PGP Classic Soaps with such legends as Search for Tomorrow and Another World.
If P&G wants out of daytime so bad, they should do the humaine thing for the fans and the show itself and sell it to someone who actually gives a damn.
"If P&G wants out of daytime so bad, they should do the humaine thing for the fans and the show itself and sell it to someone who actually gives a damn."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Is there anyone out there that does give a damn? If there were, the soaps wouldn't be in the shape they are now.
Was this article/blog suppose to be something so insightful? My kids could write a more in-depth article on GL than this douchebag...just sayin.
There's gotta be someone out there.
Of course P&G (and the rest of the suits) want out. They found their new way to make money and it is called reality TV. And if they really want to make dramas, maybe all of what is happening is part of a plan to drive the unions into submission. If an actor made 200 an eppy rather than a 1000 an eppy, maybe things would be different (or maybe not, because the suits will want them to make 199 an eppy).
I'm not shocked about the possibility of P&G wanting out of the soap business. Their losing money with it, they are putting out online soaps overseas, and yes reality shows are cheaper. I kinda figured it when I heard about the overseas webseries they are putting out instead of a webseries involving GL. Plus from reading all the articles CC has out right now it seems they weren't interested in any idea at all for GL not just for Otalia but the show as a whole.
GL is at a 1.3! So much for a 1.8!
OLTL is trying to get a 1.8.
Wth does a 1.3 or a 1.8 have to do with any of this? Seriously, regardless of the fact that the storylines did stall for several weeks....it was cancelled, the ratings did hold steady at 1.7s and 1.8s, and after the announcement, they have declined...surely you didn't think they would remain the same...the shock would've been the ratings remaining steady and consistent.
They should built the show around Otalia. That would of drive the viewership up.
I like the episode of Harley paying her bills, LOL.
Okay, I lost interest in watching, even Otalia weeks ago. Otalia had potential and had moments, but my point of contention was Olivia not being more aggressive towards her relationship (mostly sexually). Without who Olivia is, I couldn't follow it very well. Maybe it got better. I hope so. Olivia not being aggressive is a bridge you can't built after you crossed the river by walking on water. I always saw Otalia as extention of Olivia and Buzz. Olivia was with Frank in part of that story, but wasn't afraid of showing Buzz her feelings even then. I guess I was spoiled by past Olivia to enjoy present Olivia.