SoapNet's Reality Fashion House Victim of $70K Crime

...thus screams the headline in the usually far more subtle ;-) New York Post.

Read the story here.

Soaps on the Ropes? Broader Impact of Falling Soap Ratings Explored

John Consoli of MediaWeek authors "Soaps on the Ratings Ropes," exploring the changing soap ratings landscape. As a long-time industry watcher, I wish the piece had included some historical context (the advent of alternative cable programming, the year's worth of O.J. trial pre-emptions) that would have been helpful, and explored the highly relevant question of what channels like SoapNet have done for overall ratings (I would be very interested in knowing what GENERAL HOSPITAL's ratings come to when you combine the ABC showing with the ratings for each of the SoapNet repeats), but it does tackle the subject in a balanced way, noting that while soaps may not pull in the viewers they once did, they still are an efficient way to reach a valued audience, and for that reason, still draw advertisers. It's worth a read.

[Editor's Question: The ratings numbers/trends regarding the shows which have benefited from the inclusion of college students are practically the polar opposites from those featured in this Variety story a few weeks ago. If anyone knows the reason for this discrepancy, e-mail me at the address to the left.]

A substantial excerpt of the full article:

Daytime soap operas on the broadcast networks have continued their steady audience decline this year, drawing concern from media buyers who say there are still a large number of clients that want to reach the shows’ largely female viewership. But some nets at least are doing something about it.

While NBC announced earlier this year that after eight years it will pull the plug on PASSIONS this fall, the network will stick with DAYS OF OUR LIVES. And both CBS and ABC insiders say they are committed to keeping their combined seven soaps on the air. But despite the networks’ commitments, the audience shortfalls, combined with advertiser demand, have tightened the avails and driven up prices.

“We always hate paying more for less,” said Andy Donchin, executive vp and director of national broadcast for Carat USA.

“Daytime ratings are bleeding and it’s a problem for advertisers,” added Rino Scanzoni, chief investment officer for GroupM, who said he wants soaps to survive, “It’s an efficient way to reach women, and if they go off the air, I can’t think of any efficient alternatives.”

Donchin agreed. “Even though I am concerned about audience falloff, it hasn’t reached a point where our clients would abandon the daypart,” he said, “The total number of viewers each day is still substantial when compared to alternatives like cable or syndication.”

To read the full article, go here.

Disney - Time Warner Pact Benefits SoapNet Viewers

Walt Disney Co. entered a multi-year, comprehensive distribution pact with Time Warner Cable that will extend retransmission consent for ABC-owned broadcast TV stations, and provide for carriage of other Disney networks (including SoapNet) and services. This secures SoapNet for many households, and extends the network to many others.

Soaps' New Media Ventures: Coming of Age?

Business Week asks, "Can producing soap operas for online viewers breathe new life into daytime programming?" in Tom Lowry's piece 'As The World Wide Web Turns':

In late February, CBS launched a Web-only soap opera called L.A. DIARIES it hopes will attract young women. The nine episodes are
streamed for about six minutes a pop on the network's innertube.com site.

The action centers on "Amber [Moore Forrester," portrayed by Adrienne Frantz], an existing character on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, and on "Alison [Stewart," portrayed by Marnie Schulenburg], a new character who emerged from the cyberspace soap on Mar. 21 to play an actual role on TV in AS THE WORLD TURNS [Soappipe editor's note: "Alison" is actually a long-running character on ATWT, recently recast and reintroduced via Diaries].

It's a fresh approach to creating buzz for a TV staple, and other network executives will be watching closely. Rival networks are trying to get kids to watch old daytime melodramas such as GENERAL HOSPITAL and DAYS OF OUR LIVES, shows their mothers or grandmothers might have watched.

Few genres have demonstrated more staying power than the soap opera. More than half a century after first airing alongside the detergent commercials that gave them their name, soaps still captivate millions of mostly women fans. No matter how preposterous the dialogue or cheesy the plot lines, soaps have, in modern parlance, a "stickiness" that many prime-time dramas can only hope to achieve.

Characters like newspaper publisher "Victoria Lord Davidson" [portrayed by Erika Slezak] of ONE LIFE TO LIVE (who made her debut on the show in 1968) have been on the tube for so long that they can seem like old friends. "I feel I really know them," says Antonella Cahill, a 40-year-old Philadelphia secretary and soap fan who named one daughter after the scheming "Nikki Newman" [portrayed by Melanie Thomas Scott] of Y&R and the other after GH's "Tiffany Hill" (who married and left beloved Port Charles years ago).

Even better, as far as soap fans are concerned, the networks don't stint on new episodes; last year, ABC rolled out 251 new GH episodes vs. 23 new DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES shows.

But even as the shows' stars age gracefully (cue makeup, soft focus, and cosmetic surgery), there is no hiding the graying of their fans.
There are new plot devices and characters--a teen girl's right to choose, for one--calculated to appeal to young women. Even so, most soap devotees are well over 50. Meanwhile, over the past decade, viewership has fallen 35%, to 30 million viewers a day. Hence the networks' eagerness to reimagine the soaps for a new generation.

It goes without saying that the Web is where the action is, but so far the networks haven't been able to win the digital rights to put them on their own sites. Until ABC, NBC, and CBS hammer out a deal with the production companies that make the soaps, few will be available to download or stream. [Soappipe editor's Note: NBC streams PASSIONS daily on NBC.com.]

There's plenty of upside in getting the deals done. Media consultant Tom Wolzien figures there are more than 20 million women in the workplace with broadband access. So streaming shows live to computers could double the potential audience for soaps. If you got just 5% of those working women to watch, Wolzien calculates, the networks could reap an extra $230 million a year in advertising.

In the meantime, the networks are taking baby steps online. SoapNet, the Walt Disney Co.-owned channel that shows soaps at night for working women, sponsors online soap fantasy leagues. Participants rack up points when characters they have picked for their team take off their shirts, say, or switch the paternity-test results. Still,
the players number less than 30,000. The channel is also asking college kids to create their own soaps and put them to the vote at soapnet.com. Even CBS's GUIDING LIGHT is getting in on the act, podcasting the show, which began life on radio in 1937. [Soappipe editor's note: ATWT also is available as a streaming podcast each day.]

If the soap opera is to be around for another half-century, the networks will have to make converts of a generation with a thousand more entertainment choices than their grandmothers.

"The constant," says Barbara Bloom, senior vice-president for daytime programming at CBS, "is making viewers always feel emotionally involved in the story."

• Read the Business Week story in its original form here.
• See L.A. DIARIES, featuring Y&R's Amber and ATWT's Alison here.
• View full-episodes of PASSIONS (and check out a variety of interactive web content related to the supernatural soap) on-line here.
• Interactive content for DAYS is here.
• Download GL and ATWT podcasts here. Additional web content for CBS Daytime is here.

Hundreds of NYC Hopefuls: 'I Wanna Be a Soap Star'

From WNBC.com:

"Do you want to be a soap opera star? Apparently hundreds in the New York City area do.

They flocked to the Upper West Side Saturday for the open casting call of SoapNet's reality series I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR....[which] will feature 10 aspiring actors living full-time on soap opera sets--all trying to win a 13-week role on NBC's DAYS OF OUR LIVES."

Auditions were held on the set of THE VIEW, and followed a similar open call in Miami, Florida, a week prior. The show will hold one more open call, next week, at Prospect Studios in Los Angeles, home of GENERAL HOSPITAL and GREY'S ANATOMY, with callbacks set for April 1 (more). The show is hosted by ALL MY CHILDREN star Cameron Mathison.

ABC's Frons: "Do you say to a woman ‘I’m going to divorce you in two years’ and expect them to still sleep with you?"

Anne Becker of Broadcasting & Cable talked to Brian Frons, President of Daytime for the Disney-ABC TV Group, resulting in some very revealing observations on ABC Soaps, SoapNet, and more (including whether ABC would buy a cancelled DAYS OF OUR LIVES):

On GH’s Sweeps Performance: “GENERAL HOSPITAL took a very unique creative approach and the audience….went, ‘wow, we have never seen that before.’ GH led in every major female demographic from teens, 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 women [and] that’s the first time GH has ever done that and the second time I think it’s ever been done that at all.”

On the Daytime Emmy Nominations: “If I had a disappointment it would be that GH did not get a nod for best show and it’s interesting because the writing was nominated, Tony Geary, Genie Francis and Julie Berman were featured in the November episode the show submitted for best show and were all recognized and so was the director somehow the show wasn’t.”

“I’m very pleased particularly for ONE LIFE TO LIVE...It’s OLTL first Best Show nomination since Frank Valentini took over in early 2003.“

On the Cancellation of PASSIONS: “[PASSIONS] was a show that had a strong heartbeat a few years ago, they went from being a very young-targeted show to trying to spread their demographic to going back to who they were and I think they lost some people in the zigging and zagging and it cost them.“

On a Possible DAYS Cancellation: “NBC…has had the weakest commitment to daytime historically. When Jeff Zucker announced that DAYS may go away in 2009, you can track the ratings from that point and see they probably lost 25% of their audience on NBC Daytime...do you think you can turn to a woman and say, ‘I’m going to divorce you in two years’ and expect them to still sleep with you? I say no. So, they sort of broke the contract and I think it’s the opposite for us.”

On whether ABC would buy a cancelled DAYS: "The success of ABC soaps on ABC would really prevent us from picking up DAYS for ABC and I don’t know that when the time comes for DAYS and NBC to part ways that we’ll have an economic model that will make it practical to put on SoapNet. Otherwise, I would certainly consider it."

On Future Plans for SoapNet: “We have two shows in development now in the reality soap genre - a la Laguna Beach and The Real Housewives of Orange County [and] we bought ONE TREE HILL and THE OC. SoapNet really needs to be a channel that stays contemporary in terms of delivering all soap experiences to the consumer.”

On MyNetworkTV’s failed telenovela slate: “They went into time periods and stations that were not in the soap opera business in daytime or primetime so I think the soap opera audience was not looking to those channels for soaps. To get a soap opera audience, you really have to spend some time with them, give them a chance to sample the product, and have the patience for them to get caught up in it. Unlike traditional novelas, which can last six months to a year, these were only 13 weeks. Almost by time you figured out who everybody was, it was over and that may have been a stumbling block to them.”

On AMC’s “risk taking” and the current transgender storyline: “Part of the audience is passionately approving what we’re doing and there’s a portion that aren’t embracing it with the same excitement. That story was conceived with a finite ending. We wanted to introduce the character and explore the issue and create a relationship with Zoey and Bianca and we’ve had a chance to do that. The storyline will be over by end of April.“

On the Firing (and Potential Re-Hiring) of former AMC Headwriter Megan McTavish: “Megan was somebody who took great risks and was innovative yet at the same time very true to the heart and soul of ALL MY CHILDREN. Turning out 250 hours of television a year was a grind and she had been doing it for a while. I’ve actually told her that after she takes a little time off, I would be more than happy to hire her as a story consultant."

(read the full interview, and Frons's take on Rosie O'Donnell and The View, here)

Daytime Emmy Nominations Sure to Spark Controversy: Does CBS continue to be recognized disproportionately at the expense of NBC?

Nominees for the 34th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy® Awards were announced today by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences live on CBS's The Early Show at the stages of GUIDING LIGHT, television’s longest running daytime drama.

Peter Price, President of the National Television Academy, was joined by Barbara Bloom, Sr. VP, CBS Daytime Programs, Early Show anchor Julie Chen, and actors Mandy Bruno and Bradley Cole ("Marina Cooper" and "Jeffrey O'Neill") of GL; Terri Colombino and Austin Peck ("Katie Peretti Kasnoff" and "Brad Snyder") of AS THE WORLD TURNS; Brandon Beemer ("Shawn Brady") of DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Cathy Jeneen Doe, ("Simone Russell"), PASSIONS, Bree Williamson ("Jessica and 'Tess' Buchanan") of ONE LIFE TO LIVE and Jacob Young of ALL MY CHILDREN.

Outstanding Drama Series

• THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, CBS
• GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ABC
• THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

• Maura West, as "Carly Snyder," AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• Crystal Chappell, as "Olivia Spencer," GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• Kim Zimmer, as "Reva Shayne Lewis," GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• Jeanne Cooper, as "Katherine Chancellor," THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS
• Michelle Stafford, as "Phyllis Summers Newman," THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS

Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series

• Michael Park, as "Jack Snyder," AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• Anthony Geary, as "Luke Spencer," GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC
• Ricky Paull Goldin, as "Gus Aitoro," GUIDING LIGHT, CBS"
• Peter Bergman, as "Jack Abbott," THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS
• Christian LeBlanc, as "Michael Baldwin," THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

• Lesli Kay, as "Felicia Forrester," THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, CBS
• Genie Francis, as "Laura Spencer," GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC
• Rebecca Herbst, as "Elizabeth Spencer," GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC
• Gina Tognoni, as "Dinah Marler," GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• Renee Elise Goldsberry, as "Evangeline Williamson," ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ABC
• Heather Tom, as "Kelly Kramer," ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ABC

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

• Trent Dawson, as "Henry Coleman," AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• Rick Hearst, as "Ric Lansing," GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC
• Dan Gauthier, as "Kevin Buchanan," ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ABC
• Greg Rikaart, as "Kevin Fisher," THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS
• Kristoff St. John, as "Neil Winters," THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS

Outstanding Younger Actress In A Drama Series

• Leven Ramblin as "Lily Montgomery," ALL MY CHILDREN, ABC
• Jennifer Landon, as "Gwen Munson," AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• Alexandra Chando, as "Maddie Coleman," AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• Julie Berman, as "Lulu Spencer," GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC
• Stephanie Gaschet, as "Tammy Winslow," GUIDING LIGHT, CBS

Outstanding Younger Actor In A Drama Series

• Van Hansis, as "Luke Snyder," AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• Jesse Soffer, as "Will Munson," AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• Tom Pelphrey, as "Jonathan Randall," GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• James Stevenson,as "Jared Casey," PASSIONS, NBC
• Bryton McClure, as "Devon Hamilton," THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS

Outstanding Achievement in Live & Direct To Tape Sound Mixing For A Drama Series

• AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• DAYS OF OUR LIVES, NBC
• GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC
• THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS

Outstanding Achievement in Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control For A Drama Series

• ALL MY CHILDREN, ABC
• AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ABC

Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team

• THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, CBS
• GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC
• GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design for a Drama Series

• ALL MY CHILDREN, ABC
• AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, CBS
• ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ABC

Outstanding Achievement for a Casting Director For A Drama Series

• Mary Clay Boland, Casting Director, AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• Christy Dooley, Casting Driector, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, CBS
• Mark Teschner, Casting Director, GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC
• Rob Decina, Casting Director, GUIDING LIGHT, CBS

Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design For A Drama Series

• AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• PASSIONS, NBC

Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team

• AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC
• GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ABC

Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing For A Drama Series

• THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, CBS
• DAYS OF OUR LIVES, NBC
• GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ABC

Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling For A Drama Series

• ALL MY CHILDREN, ABC
• AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• DAYS OF OUR LIVES, NBC
• PASSIONS, NBC

Outstanding Achievement in Lighting Direction For A Drama Series

• AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• DAYS OF OUR LIVES, NBC
• GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ABC

Outstanding Achievement in Makeup For A Drama Series

• AS THE WORLD TURNS, CBS
• THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, CBS
• GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC
• PASSIONS, NBC

Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction And Composition For A Drama Series

• DAYS OF OUR LIVES, NBC
• GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• ONE LIFE TO LIVE, ABC
• THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS

Outstanding Original Song

• "Can You Love Me (With The Lights On)," GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• "In A Moment," GUIDING LIGHT, CBS
• "Love is Ecstasy," PASSIONS, NBC
• "It's A New Day, Today," Today Show, NBC
• "Carry On," THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, CBS

Two now-defunct soap-related programs were recognized as well. SoapNet's talker, SOAP TALK, earned Emmy nods in two categories, for Outstanding Talk Show Host(s), Lisa Rinna and Ty Treadway, and for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup. NBC "reality soap" STARTING OVER, garnered two noms.

Nomination counts broke out as follows:

Networks -

1. CBS, 57
2. ABC, 36
3. NBC, 15

Shows -

1. GL, 17
2. ATWT, 16
3. Y&R, 12
4. GH, 10; OLTL, 10
5. B&B, 7
6. AMC, 5; DAYS, 5; PASSIONS, 5

The 34th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live on Friday, June 15, 2007 (9:00 PM – 11:00 PM ET/PT), on CBS.

Television pioneer Lee Phillip Bell, co-creator, along with her late husband, William J. Bell, of Y&R and B&B, was previously announced as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

A complete list of nominees can be found here.

Wanna Be A Soap Star? Get in line (literally...)! Open Casting Call Dates Announced

SoapNet and show producer LMNO Productions have announced the open casting call schedule for season 4 of their reality show I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR.

Contestants who make it through the first round of casting calls will receive a call back and a plane ticket to Los Angeles for call backs with host Cameron Mathison ("Ryan Lavery," ALL MY CHILDREN) on April 1. Series executive producers Eric Schotz and Lisa Bourgoujian will also attend the casting sessions.

As previously reported, this seasons winner will receive a 13-week contract role on NBC's DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

The Casting Calls:

MIAMI - Open Auditions 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. ET
Saturday, March 17
SONESTA HOTEL & SUITES COCONUT GROVE
2889 McFarlane Road; Coconut Grove, FL 33133

NEW YORK - Open Auditions 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, March 24
The View Stages
320 West 66th Street New York, NY 10023

LOS ANGELES - Open Auditions 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. PT
Saturday, March 31
ABC Prospect Studios
4151 Prospect Avenue
The Rehearsal Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90028

(Contestants are encouraged to go to

Just a poor choice of words?

In the heirarchy of the entertainment business, soaps have gotten the short straw for years, particularly in the R-E-S-P-E-C-T department. In covering the floundering MyNetworkTV broadcast net, Naples News "Mr. TV" columnist David Morris, goes for an easy, if unfortunate, dig on the industry:

"When the WB and UPN networks merged to create The CW, one station in each market became the CW affiliate and the other grabbed the short straw," wrote Morris, "joining FOX's MyNetworkTV and airing soap operas every night."

Mr. Morris correctly notes that MyNetworkTV "didn't work anywhere," but it no doubt it could be argued (to Morris and anyone else chalking up MyNetworkTV's struggling to it's choice to program "telenovela-style" soaps in prime-time) that MyNetworkTV's real problems are rooted in far more conventional concerns for an upstart network (starting with viewer recogntion...recent reports have noted that most Americans didn't even know the net existed...let alone that they could find it in their local market), not the choice to run soaps, versus, say, UPN's original line-up of sitcoms like Homeboys in Outer Space.

(There is, of course, a cable channel that does nothing BUT run soaps 7x a week, and something tells me the MyNetworkTV brass would have been perfectly happy to have drawn a "short straw" that delivered SoapNet-like numbers, buzz, and viewer loyalty... )

Here's wishing MyNetworkTV all the success in the world in finding it's ultimate place on the dial and audience--and finding those things will be a lot easier if they acknowledge the myriad real reasons for their lackluster peformance thus far...and don't rely on scapegoating what has appeared to be fairly well-produced, campy soap fun these past few months (at least according to the 4 people who knew MyNetworkTV was even on...and where to find it).

Will the next Irna Philips please stand up?

WCSH-TV in Portland, Maine ran an on-air story (and has this short piece on their website), profiling student filmmaker Stacy Ann Strang and her fellow budding soap opera creators at the University of Southern Maine who have made it into the final rounds of SoapNet's create-a-soap competition. Watch the video, and read the article here (and look for more coverage of the competition itself in the coming weeks).

MyNetwork-who? "Big 4" Broadcaster FOX Poised to Re-Join the Traditional Soap Game (with AMERICAN IDOL's Fuller on-board)

MyNetworkTV's recently announced intentions to abandon their attempts at daily "telenovela"-style programming, combined with the cancellation of NBC's PASSIONS have left many fans of the traditional soap-format concerned for the future. However, a series of recent industry moves (including news of an NBC-backed relaunch of PASSIONS on an alternate platform and the announcement of cable GENERAL HOSPITAL spin-off, NIGHT SHIFT, on SoapNet) may indicate that the aches being felt by the venerable genre as of late, have merely been growing pains...

In a new piece by Variety's Michael Schneider, the publication's web site reports that, years after their last stab at daytime soap programming, FOX is looking to return to the traditional soap business, ordering a 1/2 hour pilot thematically similar to the very popular, long-running British soap EASTENDERS.

The full text of Michael Schneider's Variety piece:

"FOX is getting into the half-hour soap opera business, pacting with 'American Idol' producer 19 Entertainment to adapt the popular U.K. genre for auds across the pond.

Net has ordered a pilot from 19 Entertainment that revolves around a blue collar family. Sudser comes from 19 Entertainment's Simon Fuller, as well as the shingle's head of drama, Mal Young.

Young joined 19 Entertainment at the end of 2004; before that, he served as controller of continuing drama series at the BBC, overseeing production on shows including long-running half-hour drama EASTENDERS. He also co-created another entry, DOCTORS. As head of drama at Pearson, Young also created Channel 5's FAMILY AFFAIRS.

If ordered to series, the Fuller/Young sudser could potentially air several times a week on Fox.

Fuller and Young will serve as co-creators and exec producers of the Fox pilot, which is currently untitled. CAA packaged the project."

With the already in-the-works adaptation of the British nighttime soap (and national guilty pleasure) FOOTBALLER'S WIVES (to be retitled FOOTBALL WIVES, with the titular "football" converted from soccer to American NFL-style football), may a clue to the future of American soaps lie across the pond?

ABC & SoapNet Excite, Dissapoint Fans at Florida University (99% of whom were likely Demo viewers...)

ABC-Daytime drew largely-mixed (though some angry) reviews during one of their largest and most hyped promotional projects with sister network SoapNet, Rock the Quad, a contest win that had promised a visit by five ABC-Daytime stars and a series of promotional events, icluding the attendance of classes by the stars, with University of Florida freshman Meg Pabst. Pabst beat out several hundred other entrants--also students--in a contest challenging them to prove their love for their favorite ABC soap to SoapNet.

When the big day came for Pabst, a passionate GENERAL HOSPITAL fan, and the 500 "frenzied" ABC-Daytime fans in estimated to be in attendance, the actors arrived nearly 2 hours late, and included GH actors such as Bradford Anderson ("Damien Spinelli") and new recast Kiko Ellsworth ("Stan Johnson"), both supporting-of-supporting actors with problematic screentime (Anderson has been known to play nearly all 5 days a week despite tepid, sometimes hostile, fan reaction to his quirky character, while Ellsworth--and immensely popular soap star from his previous gig as former GH DA "Dara Jenson's" cousin "Jamal" on the now defunct GH spin-off PORT CHARLES--had not yet had any screen time to speak of and thus has not yet had a chance to become a fan favorite or not for GH fans).

According to an Independent Florida Alligator newspaper of the event, about 500 fans shivered in a cold wind Friday while they waited for the event, hosted by former-Bachelor Bob Guiney (stock photo from an unidentified fan event, right), but were kept entertained by ABC/SoapNet's advance team:

"While waiting for the event to begin, some students munched on hamburgers, hotdogs and cookies that were provided by ABC. Others received free makeovers and were sent to a photographer for headshots. Some of the more serious fans crowded the stage, afraid of losing their spots, which would put them within arm's reach of the celebrities.

Though Pabst remained positive the whole time, the paper noted the annoyance of her friends "that ABC representatives didn't fulfill a string of promises, [after]Pabst had spent dozens of hours filling out a questionnaire, throwing a General Hospital party and creating a scrapbook in order to win the contest."

ABC representative Mitch Messinger admitted to the Alligator that the stars did not tour campus or attend classes with Pabst as had promised, noting that the stars toured the school without Pabst.

Neither Messinger nor Brian Frons, President of ABC-Daytime, nor SoapNet GM Deborah Blackwell, have yet to respond to inquiries from Soappipe.

(read the whole article here)

Soap Star #4 Updates: DAYS Scribe Judges, This Time YOU Decide

More on SoapNet's 4th season of it's popular reality show I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR: The show will continue in it's successful format, and with popular host Cameron Mathison, but will feature a new judge at the table with consummate soap insider Michael Bruno, and veteran actress Debi Morgan ("Dr. Angie Hubbard," ALL MY CHILDREN, "Dr. Ellen Burgess," PORT CHARLES, GENERATIONS, BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL, etc.), new DAYS OF OUR LIVES (and AS THE WORLD TURNS turn-around magician) Hogan Sheffer.

Sheffer (seen right), a large personality with a colorful vocabulary to boot, should make for some interesting TV, without a doubt, and the way he'll gel personally with equally large personalities Bruno and Morgan is an uncertain prospect at best. However, Sheffer's inclusion as a judge, a first for any soap head writer as well, will be particularly interesting this season as the winner and audience knows that the prize of a 13-week contract with DAYS, and where that small stint has the potential to go long-term, will ultimately fall into the hands of Sheffer himself.

What will not fall into Sheffer (or any of the judge's) hands is the selection of this season's winner. Following significant fan outcry from last year's selection of Mikey Jerome as show winner, fans will, for the first time in the show's history, now be the ones who select the winner from the show's two finalists.

WANNA BE...SOAP STAR #4 Earn 13 Weeks of DAYS

ALL MY CHILDREN's Cameron Mathison can continue to add "soap starmaker" to his ever-growing resume. As reported in Daily Variety:

"SoapNet has ordered a fourth season of the reality contest I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR and this time, the winner will wind up on NBC's DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

It's the first time the Disney-owned cabler has featured a non-ABC sudser on 'I Wanna Be a Soap Star' .... "

(read the full article here)

Georgia lawmaker: High cable bills? Blame SoapNet!

A fun exchange from a Georgia lawmaker's town-hall:

This legislative session, Clay Cox has become an expert in two areas. 'All I know about anymore is cable television and payday lending,' the Republican legislator from Lilburn told a crowd at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce on Friday.But Cox’s wife, Alisa, added another subject to the list after the meeting: the soap opera GENERAL HOSPITAL.

Cox jokingly blamed his high cable rate on his wife’s affinity for SoapNet when discussing a bill that would allow cable companies to franchise with the state instead of individual cities or counties. 'It costs me $100 for television that used to be free,” Cox said. 'The result of this bill, I believe, is lower cable rates.”

After the meeting Alisa Cox said her husband shouldn’t pass the buck. He’s just as big a fan of the soap opera — a show they TiVo and watch together — as she is. Admitted the state representative, 'I’ve got to have GENERAL HOSPITAL.'

SoapNet: Viewers will "interact with GH like never before"

SoapNet and GENERAL HOSPITAL are promising an unprecedented interactive experience this weekend as part of the show's weekly replay block. The net's promotional materials encourage viewers to "Talk about General Hospital with fans across the country...[and] text in questions, comments, and shout outs throughout the 5 hour marathon using your mobile phone."

The web advertisement has all the details and includes a video from the portrayer of GH's resident computer geek, Bradford Anderson ("Damien Spinelli"). Though NBC (PASSIONS, in particular) is the daytime leader in interactive content, SoapNet has been experimenting with a variety of new interactive tie-ins for its web visitors and viewers. If you haven't visited SoapNet's innovative "Fantasy Soap League" you can do so by clicking here.

ABC announces soap-free DANCING WITH THE STARS

This week, ABC announced the celebrity line-up for the upcoming season of Dancing with the Stars and for the first time in four seasons, the contestant roster will not feature a soap star among their ranks. Previous seasons have featured GENERAL HOSPITAL's Kelly Monaco ("Sam McCall," ex-"Livvie Locke, PORT CHARLES), the first season winner, DAYS OF OUR LIVES star (and SoapNet host) Lisa Rinna (ex-"Billie Reed"), and Saved by the Bell's Mario Lopez (under contract as "Dr. Christian Ramirez" at the time of his selection for Dancing).

While the season's likely surefire inspirational favorite, Heather Mills McCartney (an amputee who will compete using a prosthetic leg), did play herself on DAYS in a one day appearance to counsel Kyle Brandt's "Philip Kirakis" (a core character who lost a leg serving in Iraq), one can't help but wonder if message board protests--and several comments by first season runner-up John O'Hurley--that the passionate loyalty of soap opera fans led to block voting and disproportionate success by Monaco and Lopez (Rinna did not make it to the final dance-off) was a factor. [Monaco countered the accusation on CNN's Larry King Live, pointing out that while GH averages 3 million or so viewers, O'Hurley is best known for Seinfeld, which consistently drew 5 or more times GH's numbers and has a passionate fan base of its own.]

Alas, another possibility is that, having utilized soap talent to lure a core base of fans for what was initially an uncertain proposition, the Dancing brass has decided they no longer need the soap community and have decided to look beyond the "soap level" for their celebrities. If so, that would be a shame...

TVWeek looks at year's highly competitive Daytime Emmy field

Writing for Television Week, Allison J. Waldman takes a look at potential contenders for the upcoming Daytime Emmy nominations, noting that across the board (and networks) quality in 2006 makes the field as competitive as it has been in years.

Waldman speaks to ABC-Daytime president Brian Frons, SoapNet Executive VP and GM Deborah Blackwell, and TVGuide.com's Daniel Coleridge, who offer their perspectives on the year's possibilities.

The article does not address the ongoing pre-nomination controversies, but does mention the fact that the pre-nomination procedure leaves some of the year's most acclaimed actors, like Eric Braeden of THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS, ineligible for a nomination.

The article: http://www.tvweek.com/article.cms?articleId=31525