Until You Walk the Path, You Won’t Know Where it Goes will be hosting one of the event coordinators of the “Save Our Soaps Rally”, Sue O'Konis on August 29 at 5 pm eastern.
The cancellation of Guiding Light and As the World Turns has caused the fans to band together. Originally, Sue O’Knois and other created websites, mailings and rallies to save their favor soaps. However, they quickly learned the entire genre was in danger of disappearing from their screens. Instead of giving up, they have expanded their efforts.
Tune in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theresachaze on August 29 at 5:00 pm eastern to learn what Sue O’Knois and the others at “Save Our Soaps 2010” The phone lines and chat will be available for those who wish to ask questions or share ideas. The phone number to call is (347) 324-3745 or Skype is available by using the click to talk on the show page.. The interactive chat room is also available.
Showing posts with label soap opera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label soap opera. Show all posts
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
The Fallacy of Soap Opera Ratings
The Fallacy of Soap Opera Ratings
By
Theresa Chaze
The cancellation of Guiding Light only proves that the network executives don’t understand their own industry. Soap operas are the only genre where they have a true monopoly. It is the single aspect of programming that independent and cable networks simply don’t have a way to compete. To say that the soaps were grandfathered into our lives is into an understatement. Before VCRs or DVR’s, viewers planned their schedules around their favorite TV shows, including soap operas. If they were forced to miss, they found a fellow addict to catch them up or waited for the rerun. Soaps by their very nature don‘t rerun episodes, therefore their viewers became the most loyal and reliable in the industry, making them also a consistent form of income for the networks with their own built in sponsorship consortium.
During television’s infancy, most people only had access to three stations. Competition for viewers was low in comparison to today. This was the era that soap operas were born and their fan base established. It was the guilty pleasure that no one would admit to watching, yet everyone knew what was happening. After school and on vacations, children watched and became addicted to the shows their mothers and grandmothers watched. It is a legacy of fond memories that the children of the 1960s forward have carried into their adulthood.
Although viewership has always been consistent and loyal, it has always been also under reported by Nielsen; people simply didn’t always want to admit they watched soap operas. Even through society and technology has changed, Nielsen’s way of reporting has not. They do not acknowledge delayed viewing, which has become the primary means of watching daytime programming for those who work from 9 to 5. Instead of upgrading their accounting systems to more accurate methods, they continue to use the diaries and equipment that fail to account for delayed or remote viewing.
This statistical over sight has made it appear that the genre is no longer an asset to the networks. This is far from the truth. One would only have to look at the popularity of the fan events, the merchandizing and the demand for interviews with the soap stars to see that their fan base is not only enthusiastic, but actively growing. Fans love their soaps and their stars enough to spend their time, their money and their energy on them. The peripheral businesses make hundreds of million dollars from around the world from fans that simply cannot get enough of their favorite soap.
Yet the sponsor and the networks look only at the ratings without putting them into proper context. The ratings of the past were higher due to the lack of competition for viewers. When the pie is only split three ways, all the pieces are bigger. Cable and satellite networks now give viewers more options for programming, thereby increasing the number of slices in the pie. So the question that must be both asked and answered is--are the lower rating for soap operas just a natural result of the increased division of viewers or is the genre run its course? As long as the comparisons aren’t made on a level playing field, the information they yield cannot be accurate. Before a network makes the irreversible decision to cancel a soap opera, thereby infuriating the fans base, it really needs to compare the ratings across the board for that day part. To do less could very easily cost them a valuable asset.
By
Theresa Chaze
The cancellation of Guiding Light only proves that the network executives don’t understand their own industry. Soap operas are the only genre where they have a true monopoly. It is the single aspect of programming that independent and cable networks simply don’t have a way to compete. To say that the soaps were grandfathered into our lives is into an understatement. Before VCRs or DVR’s, viewers planned their schedules around their favorite TV shows, including soap operas. If they were forced to miss, they found a fellow addict to catch them up or waited for the rerun. Soaps by their very nature don‘t rerun episodes, therefore their viewers became the most loyal and reliable in the industry, making them also a consistent form of income for the networks with their own built in sponsorship consortium.
During television’s infancy, most people only had access to three stations. Competition for viewers was low in comparison to today. This was the era that soap operas were born and their fan base established. It was the guilty pleasure that no one would admit to watching, yet everyone knew what was happening. After school and on vacations, children watched and became addicted to the shows their mothers and grandmothers watched. It is a legacy of fond memories that the children of the 1960s forward have carried into their adulthood.
Although viewership has always been consistent and loyal, it has always been also under reported by Nielsen; people simply didn’t always want to admit they watched soap operas. Even through society and technology has changed, Nielsen’s way of reporting has not. They do not acknowledge delayed viewing, which has become the primary means of watching daytime programming for those who work from 9 to 5. Instead of upgrading their accounting systems to more accurate methods, they continue to use the diaries and equipment that fail to account for delayed or remote viewing.
This statistical over sight has made it appear that the genre is no longer an asset to the networks. This is far from the truth. One would only have to look at the popularity of the fan events, the merchandizing and the demand for interviews with the soap stars to see that their fan base is not only enthusiastic, but actively growing. Fans love their soaps and their stars enough to spend their time, their money and their energy on them. The peripheral businesses make hundreds of million dollars from around the world from fans that simply cannot get enough of their favorite soap.
Yet the sponsor and the networks look only at the ratings without putting them into proper context. The ratings of the past were higher due to the lack of competition for viewers. When the pie is only split three ways, all the pieces are bigger. Cable and satellite networks now give viewers more options for programming, thereby increasing the number of slices in the pie. So the question that must be both asked and answered is--are the lower rating for soap operas just a natural result of the increased division of viewers or is the genre run its course? As long as the comparisons aren’t made on a level playing field, the information they yield cannot be accurate. Before a network makes the irreversible decision to cancel a soap opera, thereby infuriating the fans base, it really needs to compare the ratings across the board for that day part. To do less could very easily cost them a valuable asset.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
BuzzWorthy Radio: Michael Fairman!
BuzzWorthy Radio: Michael Fairman!
On Air On Soaps' Michael Fairman comes back to BuzzWorthy Radio! Hear him speak about what is right and what is wrong in daytime. We will take the time out to talk with callers about how they feel about their shows, as well as promote Michael's Soap Break, which can be heard on XM Satellite Radio's The Pink Channel! Visit http://www.michaelfairmansoaps.com for more information on everything Michael Fairman and soaps.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Days of Our Lives: Honoring Francis Reid
To watch the video go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C459kXlRgUQ
I have been writing characters studies about the Days of Our Live cast. Alice Horton is more than the matriarch of the Horton clan; she is someone who knew what was right and had the courage to do what was necessary to help and protect other. She was all about friends, family and community as was Days of our Lives. She knew that loving others through the laughter and tears is what truly makes life worth while. However, it is impossible to summarize Alice in a few paragraphs; instead I found one of her best examples of her work and produced a video.
Francis Reid has portrayed Alice Horton since Days went on the air. Her unique humor and since of drama has made her special to many of her fans who see her as the sister, mother, aunt or grandmother we wished we had. For the long time fans of Day, it is hard to remember the time when Francis and Alice didn't grace our screens, making us laugh and cry, but most of all teaching us the true definition of family. When the character was prematurely killed off 2003-2004, the outcry from the fans force the show to rewrite the story, proving that some characters and the actors who portray them are irreplaceable-unlike head writers executives producers.
Alice and Tom Horton, played by Macdonald Carey, were the original faces of Days. They represented the best soaps had to offer. After Carey's death of lung cancer in 1994, the show tweaked it's opening theme to remove his name. However, until this day the show opens with Carey speaking "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives."
It is the continuity along with the strong writing, production values and excellent cast that created a fan base that best could be called die-hard at worse a little rabid. It has taken a lot to drive them away, but it seems Corday, Higley and Tomlin are about to reach their goal of letting the sands of time run out as the show rapid runs down the path to cancellation. Hopefully, Ms Reid has better things to do with her time and people loving enough around her to distract her from watching the travesty the three-some has turned her life's work into. It would make my heart weep, if she was to see how they have turned the show she loved into nothing more than soft porn for teens and tweens.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Soap Opera Fans: Speak out to Save the Genre by Boycotting NBC
Soap Opera Fans: Speak out to Save the Genre by Boycotting NBC
By
Theresa Chaze
Like so many industries, television is financially top heavy with over paid executives, who suck up the profits while giving little or nothing back. The banking industry is a prime example of how those create nothing take the lion share of the profits, while those who do produce are asked to make financial sacrifices. Instead of taking across the board pay cuts, the television executives have decided to cut the quality and the diversity of their programming. By choosing amateur based “reality” shows over, those produced by talented and creative professionals, they under cut the unions, while disregarding the viewers.
In television, this can be best seen in the rapid movement toward the cheaper talk and reality shows. Using their declining revenue as an excuse, the networks are cutting production values of shows produced by professional casts and crews until such time as they are more financially secure. It is the equivalent of Taco Bell taking tacos off their menu until they sell enough burritos to make it cost effective to sell tacos again. Replacing quality product with cheaper doesn’t increase customer-viewer satisfaction; it forces them to seek other venues of satisfaction. As in all industries, the customer is always right or they become someone else’s customer.
Soap operas have been the hardest hit, not because they have lost popularity, but simply the modern family needs two incomes to survive. Originally targeting the stay at home mothers, the soaps focused on advertisers that appealed the needs of women, hence the name soap opera. However, one would only have to look at the highly profitable industries attached to soaps to learn just how loyal the fan bases are. The conventions, interview requests, and the multitude of websites are only a small example of industries, which have spun off the genre. Fans spend millions of dollars each year supporting hotels, conventions centers, and other fan events just to meet the soap opera stars.
As more women joined the work force, the popularity of soaps seemed decline. However it is the out dated ratings system failed to compensate for modern technology. Only those who watch the show live are counted by Nielsen Media Research. The system disregards any viewer who records and watches a show later. Instead of adjusting the viewer measuring system, the executives are using it as an excuse to cut the salaries of popular actors and creative technical people. They claim poverty while doing the equivalent of Merrill Lynch spending a million dollars to redecorate an office and giving out bonuses early. Instead of finding more efficient methods of accumulating viewer data, they are choosing to use it as an excuse to cancel soaps.
What started at Days of Our Lives has already begun to spread to the other soaps. The bad writing, the firing of major stars, while replacing them with talent-less younger actors, and the cutting production values is what is costing the shows viewers not the lack of interest. Loyal viewers are turning the channel not because they don’t love their show, but because they don’t recognize it any more.
It is time for soap fan to send a clear message to the networks. As in the movie, Network--it is time to stand up and say--”We are as mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it anymore!” The across the board boycotting of NBC for it’s systematic canceling the daytime soaps on it’s network will not only sent a clear message to them, but the other networks who might contemplating the same course of action. The only way to get their attention is to make them bleed in the wallet. Sending letters, emails and making phone calls no longer makes a difference; hit them at their bottom line and you start speaking their language. The power to control is seen on the television comes from the viewers' remotes, not the executives' office. It is time to for the fans to take their power back and demand that the soap opera genre be saved.
By
Theresa Chaze
Like so many industries, television is financially top heavy with over paid executives, who suck up the profits while giving little or nothing back. The banking industry is a prime example of how those create nothing take the lion share of the profits, while those who do produce are asked to make financial sacrifices. Instead of taking across the board pay cuts, the television executives have decided to cut the quality and the diversity of their programming. By choosing amateur based “reality” shows over, those produced by talented and creative professionals, they under cut the unions, while disregarding the viewers.
In television, this can be best seen in the rapid movement toward the cheaper talk and reality shows. Using their declining revenue as an excuse, the networks are cutting production values of shows produced by professional casts and crews until such time as they are more financially secure. It is the equivalent of Taco Bell taking tacos off their menu until they sell enough burritos to make it cost effective to sell tacos again. Replacing quality product with cheaper doesn’t increase customer-viewer satisfaction; it forces them to seek other venues of satisfaction. As in all industries, the customer is always right or they become someone else’s customer.
Soap operas have been the hardest hit, not because they have lost popularity, but simply the modern family needs two incomes to survive. Originally targeting the stay at home mothers, the soaps focused on advertisers that appealed the needs of women, hence the name soap opera. However, one would only have to look at the highly profitable industries attached to soaps to learn just how loyal the fan bases are. The conventions, interview requests, and the multitude of websites are only a small example of industries, which have spun off the genre. Fans spend millions of dollars each year supporting hotels, conventions centers, and other fan events just to meet the soap opera stars.
As more women joined the work force, the popularity of soaps seemed decline. However it is the out dated ratings system failed to compensate for modern technology. Only those who watch the show live are counted by Nielsen Media Research. The system disregards any viewer who records and watches a show later. Instead of adjusting the viewer measuring system, the executives are using it as an excuse to cut the salaries of popular actors and creative technical people. They claim poverty while doing the equivalent of Merrill Lynch spending a million dollars to redecorate an office and giving out bonuses early. Instead of finding more efficient methods of accumulating viewer data, they are choosing to use it as an excuse to cancel soaps.
What started at Days of Our Lives has already begun to spread to the other soaps. The bad writing, the firing of major stars, while replacing them with talent-less younger actors, and the cutting production values is what is costing the shows viewers not the lack of interest. Loyal viewers are turning the channel not because they don’t love their show, but because they don’t recognize it any more.
It is time for soap fan to send a clear message to the networks. As in the movie, Network--it is time to stand up and say--”We are as mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it anymore!” The across the board boycotting of NBC for it’s systematic canceling the daytime soaps on it’s network will not only sent a clear message to them, but the other networks who might contemplating the same course of action. The only way to get their attention is to make them bleed in the wallet. Sending letters, emails and making phone calls no longer makes a difference; hit them at their bottom line and you start speaking their language. The power to control is seen on the television comes from the viewers' remotes, not the executives' office. It is time to for the fans to take their power back and demand that the soap opera genre be saved.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Jeffrey Immelt, Jeffrey Zucker, Michael Lynton, Ken Corday
Ken Corday
Gary Tomlin
Dena Higley
Corday Productions
818-840-4968
NBCUNI.COM FEEDBACK
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
212-664-4085
Sony Pictures Entertainment
12102 West Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232-3195
(310) 244-2626
Many writers see themselves as God-almighty when it comes to the projects they work on. They control the motivation, the actions and the outcome from the first page to the last. In novels, this is true, but only if there is a sole author. When it comes to film and television, every project is a collaborative effort.
Writers who step into an existing show need to play catch up. No matter how much outside research she or he does, the actor who has lived in the role will be the best asset the writer can have. However, the reverse is also true. A new writer can breathe fresh air into a show, giving it new life and inspiration. By bringing in a new perspective, the writer can give new twists to old plots and help the actors develop additional depth to their characters by opening new challenges. There needs to be a balance between the past and the future in order for the show to stay imaginative and original from episode to episode--year to year. As long as a show remains balance by being inventive, while honoring its history and keeping the egos in check, it will be able to keep its fan base happy; thereby continuing its success
Betty Corday and Irna Philips created a show that was based on romance, suspense, drama and comedy. They valued the creative effort of both the cast and crew. Betty's motto, "Don't lie to the fans; Respect your talent" was one of the main pillars that made Days an icon in television history, as was Irna's steadfast determination to create the best show possible. These two women created a genre by not accepting less than the best; they bucked the system and convinced the networks to see it their way. Not only were they were able to invent a financially profitable product that lasted for decades, but they also did so in such away that the fans stayed loyal from generation to generation.
In the past two years, you have managed to destroy everything they created. You have turned Days into nothing more than soft porn. The fans didn't just leave; you drove them away with the endless triangles, lack of real story telling, and the gutting of the established characters. Instead of focusing on the veteran actors and established characters, you created new characters that were poor written. Most high school plays are not only better produced, but also have higher quality of talent than the new actors you have brought in. Let's face it your writing staff couldn't write themselves out of wet paper bag with Freddy Krueger's help.
Like most soap fans, I started watching because of my mother and grandmother. When Dark Shadows was cancelled, she switched to Days and Another World. Even when I worked at an ABC affiliate, I would record and watch both shows. When NBC cancelled Another World, I stopped watching NBC except for Days. The firing of Dee and Drake was the last straw. Not only am I done with Days, but NBC as well. The only demographics the show still appeals to are teeny-boppers and high school drop outs that have pie in the eye dreams of marrying a millionaire even though they can’t put a coherent simple sentence together. Neither of which has the buying power to sustain or attract a profitable commercial sponsorship. You have tossed away viewers who have been loyal for decades in favor of those who are insistent and unreliable as their whims change from moment to moment--fad to fad.
When Days is cancelled in a couple of months, I will take comfort in the fact that Corday, Tomlin and Higley will be forever be remembered for the destruction of a beloved icon. Only a total moron would hired them after the hack job they did on a viable profit show.
Gary Tomlin
Dena Higley
Corday Productions
818-840-4968
NBCUNI.COM FEEDBACK
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
212-664-4085
Sony Pictures Entertainment
12102 West Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232-3195
(310) 244-2626
Many writers see themselves as God-almighty when it comes to the projects they work on. They control the motivation, the actions and the outcome from the first page to the last. In novels, this is true, but only if there is a sole author. When it comes to film and television, every project is a collaborative effort.
Writers who step into an existing show need to play catch up. No matter how much outside research she or he does, the actor who has lived in the role will be the best asset the writer can have. However, the reverse is also true. A new writer can breathe fresh air into a show, giving it new life and inspiration. By bringing in a new perspective, the writer can give new twists to old plots and help the actors develop additional depth to their characters by opening new challenges. There needs to be a balance between the past and the future in order for the show to stay imaginative and original from episode to episode--year to year. As long as a show remains balance by being inventive, while honoring its history and keeping the egos in check, it will be able to keep its fan base happy; thereby continuing its success
Betty Corday and Irna Philips created a show that was based on romance, suspense, drama and comedy. They valued the creative effort of both the cast and crew. Betty's motto, "Don't lie to the fans; Respect your talent" was one of the main pillars that made Days an icon in television history, as was Irna's steadfast determination to create the best show possible. These two women created a genre by not accepting less than the best; they bucked the system and convinced the networks to see it their way. Not only were they were able to invent a financially profitable product that lasted for decades, but they also did so in such away that the fans stayed loyal from generation to generation.
In the past two years, you have managed to destroy everything they created. You have turned Days into nothing more than soft porn. The fans didn't just leave; you drove them away with the endless triangles, lack of real story telling, and the gutting of the established characters. Instead of focusing on the veteran actors and established characters, you created new characters that were poor written. Most high school plays are not only better produced, but also have higher quality of talent than the new actors you have brought in. Let's face it your writing staff couldn't write themselves out of wet paper bag with Freddy Krueger's help.
Like most soap fans, I started watching because of my mother and grandmother. When Dark Shadows was cancelled, she switched to Days and Another World. Even when I worked at an ABC affiliate, I would record and watch both shows. When NBC cancelled Another World, I stopped watching NBC except for Days. The firing of Dee and Drake was the last straw. Not only am I done with Days, but NBC as well. The only demographics the show still appeals to are teeny-boppers and high school drop outs that have pie in the eye dreams of marrying a millionaire even though they can’t put a coherent simple sentence together. Neither of which has the buying power to sustain or attract a profitable commercial sponsorship. You have tossed away viewers who have been loyal for decades in favor of those who are insistent and unreliable as their whims change from moment to moment--fad to fad.
When Days is cancelled in a couple of months, I will take comfort in the fact that Corday, Tomlin and Higley will be forever be remembered for the destruction of a beloved icon. Only a total moron would hired them after the hack job they did on a viable profit show.
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