Can the Soaps Survive?

Recently, we linked to an article from MSNBC that focused on how the poor economy has hit the already struggling genre of daytime soaps.  Big talents (even Susan Lucci) have had to take pay cuts.  Leading ladies (even Deidre Hall) have lost their jobs.  The MSNBC article asked if soaps can survive.  We asked two daytime soap experts and avid bloggers for their take on soaps and the recession.  

Mark Harding. the writer of the insightful blog MarkH's Soap Musings, has been watching soaps since his grandmother looked after him as a child. His earliest soap viewing included All My Children and General Hospital, but now his favorite show is The Young and the Restless.  We asked Mark what he would do to save soaps in these hard economic times if he was a daytime executive.  His replay was, "As a Y&R viewer, the show with the best budget, this is not my forte.  I think rather than cutting, my focus would be more on expanding the revenue base.  So, in that sense, I'd be even more aggressive than CBS/Sony has been with pushing online platforms.  I'd also use that vast content vault to try to generate additional ad revenue for classic content.  

"That said, to the extent that cost cutting involves paring down cast members (especially veteran cast members), I think Y&R is the model.  They have slowly lost a number of major players in recent years (Jerry Douglas, Victoria Rowell, Don Diamont).  With one exception, each of these departures have had a major impact on the show, and propelled major new storylines.  The departures have been selective, and they have been done in ways that viewers don't feel cheated.  Everything and everyone dies.  If it is done with respect, and if subsequent story honors it....then it works.  So, my sense is that Y&R has really handled this gradual downsizing well.  Note, too, that it is done in a planful way.  Cast members are pared gradually, their departures are set up.  It is a little "pruning" every year.  Younger cast members fill the void.  They are attached to core families, introduced gradually...so many viewers do not find this "generational transition" to be off-putting."

Ten years ago NBC has three soaps on the air; now the network has one sole soap on it's lineup. We asked Mark if he thinks other networks will follow suit and air a stand-alone soap on it's schedule.  "That is tricky to sustain," explained Mark. "Dayparts have a certain continuity and synergy.  Promos for the next show help keep viewers tuned in after the one they love.  When soaps become islanded, it is hard to imagine what will draw in viewers.  If "soaps" are not a part of your brand, then people won't think of you if they want to watch soaps. 

"That said, my sense is that the soaps will flicker out in a certain sequence, and that the Bell soaps (bolstered by higher ratings and the best international sales) will flicker out last.  So, I do contemplate that the "end times" will feature CBS as the sole network to air two soaps.
 
"That said, the "end times" is premised on the idea that viewership will continue to fall, and now compensatory revenue model will be found.  Y&R is FLOURISHING online.  It is consistently listed in the "favorites" of CBS' online broadcasts.  It is the most successful program (2 million viewers??) for Soapnet.  If Y&R can continue to exploit new ways of generating/retaining eyeballs, and having those methods be cost-effective....time of death cannot be estimated.
 
"It is important, in that context, to remember that what is happening to daytime is nothing but the same trend that is killing primetime/broadcast networks, newspapers, and magazines.  Advertiser-supported entertainment in the old model CANNOT hold up to the niche-market precise-ad-delivery of the online universe.  Thus, traditional free "broadcast" networks will be gone soon enough, and they will take ALL programs with them.  Some of these programs may find new homes...on cable, online.  Given the sheer strength of the Y&R juggernaut, I believe Y&R has the best chance of transcending and surviving.
 
"When radio soaps moved to TV, only Irna Phillips' Guiding Light successfully made the transition.  In other words, there was ONE LONE survivor of the platform shift.  I think there could be one lone survivor in this new media evolution too.  I think that will be Y&R."

Next we asked a few questions of Jeff Wyatt.  Jeff is new in the world of daytime blogging, having started his blog in November as an "experiment" of sorts.  Jeff had been a viewer of soaps on and off for years, but had lost interest during the last decade.  Beginning in December, Jeff watched each daytime soap for one week, one soap at a time, to see if any could lure him back as a fan.  Check out Daytime Direct for his findings, some of which were downright hilarious (why Guiding Light is like a bowling bowl is my favorite).  We started off by asking Jeff why he stopped watching soaps.  "The writing became less compelling and more predictable," explained Jeff.  "Shows focused on plot instead of character.  Characters lost their individuality and became cardboard cut-outs.  There was a time, especially during the days of Pam Long’s GL and Doug Marland’s ATWT, that if you missed one episode, you missed a lot.  By the mid to late 1990’s, there was nothing bringing me back day after day.  If I missed a week I didn’t feel like I was losing out."

The poor economic situation has affected almost every business in the country and soaps are no exception. Every soap has experienced slashed budgets and reduced commercial revenue.  We asked Jeff if this is the end of daytime as we know it.  "Daytime  as we know it is no longer about soaps," stated Jeff.  "It’s about reality court shows, it’s about talk shows, and it’s about original cable series.  The traditional “love in the afternoon” daytime soap lineup has been pushed aside for Judge Judy, Tyra Banks, and The View.  Those shows are less expensive to make, thus the return on investment is greater.  I don’t think soaps are dead, but they are in hibernation.  I truly believe that if one show came together with the right producers, writers, and actors and managed to capture the imaginations of viewers and achieve ratings success, the genre would be invigorated and flourish."

We asked Jeff if he were a soap executive in these economic times, what he would do to help save the genre.  "Budget cuts don't have to affect creativity.  GL had a great opportunity last year when they started their new production model.  Everyone was curious and I’m sure I wasn’t the only ex-viewer that tuned in that day to see what it was all about. Savvy producers and writers would have ensured that every storyline was peaking the week of the much hyped new production model debut. The first episode in the new format should have had the cliffhanger of the year.  Instead, viewers who tuned in saw sixty minutes of nothing.  Literally - nothing happened. Soaps can use a less expensive production model and – with creative writing, good acting, and smart direction – make a quality program.  I wouldn't be surprised to see AMC and OLTL slowly start to utilize some of the same production crew on both shows, where allowed by union regulations.  If that works, you’ll see Y&R and B&B do it next.  That will save money without effecting what the viewer sees on the screen.  You already see smaller casts, but if I were in charge I’d prefer a well balanced cast featuring veteran performers as well as newer cast members."

Readers of Daytime Direct know that Jeff was highly critical of Guiding Light. We asked him why he's so bitter about the goings on in Springfield.  "Writing about GL in 2009 was the hardest thing I had to do," explains Jeff.  "For years GL was my favorite show. I didn’t miss one episode from 1981 to 1986. I can recall entire scenes that aired over twenty years ago because the acting, writing, and directing were so good that they are forever etched in my memory.  Do you think I’m exaggerating? Check out this blog entry from Patrick Erwin’s A Thousand Other Worlds soap blog.  The entry is about actress Krista Tesreau returning to GL, and being reunited with the cast members who acted opposite her when they were playing out a teen storyline back in the early 80’s. The entry ends with the sentence “Can blue skies and palomino ponies be far behind?” GL fans remember that in June of 1983, GL’s Phillip, Beth, and Rick graduated from Springfield High, and Phillip promised them a future of “blue skies and palomino ponies.”  Yes, GL was that good that fans remember lines of dialogue that were only uttered once over twenty five years ago. That’s why I cringe when I watch the show now – there’s nothing memorable. It’s a lot of the same thing over and over.  That said, the news that Krista Tesreau, Grant Aleksander, Michael O’Leary will be on screen together will make me give the show a second look. But if the story isn’t worthwhile, I won’t keep watching. "

Lastly, we asked Jeff on his take on all the GL cancellation rumors. "Don’t listen to the “GL is done in 2009” drum beat," says Jeff.  "I could be wrong, but I don't think it is true.  For almost 40 years, CBS has started and ended most of  their daytime programs at the end of the first quarter. Y&R, Capitol, B&B all started in late March.  Where the Heart Is, Search for Tomorrow, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, and Capitol all ended their runs in late March.  If GL was being canceled this year, it would most likely go off the air in March and the announcement would have been made in late December. I don’t’ think any soap will be canceled in 2009."

In the end, both Mark and Jeff agree that quality, not the economy is the best way to save the soap genre.  We love television and don't want to see any of it's sub-genres disappear.  If you are a lapsed soap fan, tune in to your old favorites and give them a second look.  It would be sad to see any of these shows leave the air any time soon.