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Soapie reprieve: All My Children, One Life to Live moving online

Here's a first. Axed US soaps will continue to be produced -just for online audiences.

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Here’s a first. Axed US soaps All My Children and One Life to Live have been given a reprieve with news that they will continue to be produced -just for online audiences.

Prospect Park is currently finalising financing for a streaming internet television service, for both devices and internet-enabled television sets.

The new venture will produce and deliver the soaps in the same format, continuing the same storylines and have roughly the same running time, according to ABC. Much of the cast and crew of the original series will remain.

Prospect Park’s Rich Frank and Jeff Kwatinetz (Royal Pains) said in a statement, “We are privileged to continue the legacy of two of the greatest programs to air on daytime television, and are committed to delivering the storylines, characters and quality that audiences have come to love for over 40 years. All My Children and One Life to Live are television icons, and we are looking forward to providing anytime, anywhere viewing to their loyal community of millions.

“Now that there are so many devices available in addition to television sets, viewers are taking advantage of watching shows where ever they are and on any number of devices. The driving force in making the switch and attracting new audiences is to have outstanding programs that people want to watch. We believe that by continuing to produce the shows in their current hour format and with the same quality, viewers will follow the show to our new, online network.”

Since announcing the shows would be replaced by talk shows, angry fans have flooded ABC with emails, petitions and even picketed the network’s upfront presentation last May in New York.

It’s not clear when the shows will be available online.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

15 Responses

  2. Yes, I agree with @Bre Saxs & @deedeedragons.
    Bring back Passions online. And make it available for users worldwide. Heck they will get more viewers that way for sure..

    I think this format would be great for other shows as well as soapie’s!

  4. “The driving force in making the switch and attracting new audiences is to have outstanding programs that people want to watch”

    somehow i think this is the main reason it will fail (for these 2 soaps anyway)

  6. Glad that the shows have gotten a reprieve but I wonder how this is going to work. Have the actors already been terminated? If so, a lot of them may not be willing to sign back on for an online only soap, especially since some of them are rumoured to be heading to other soaps. I really hope it means both shows will be available worldwide though, like the other web-based soaps around at the moment.

    @steve – SoapNet is still operating at the moment but it is finishing as of January next year, it’s being replaced with Disney Jnr. Both OLTL and AMC currently screen on there, repeated after they’re shown on ABC. And re: Passions, yes the guy who played Timmy the doll (Josh Ryan Evans) did die in 2002 but the show continued another 6 years after that so I don’t think that would affect bringing the show back. I would love to see Passions back myself, I loved that show!!

  7. Will these be available to watch by Australian users? Or geo-blocked outside the U.S.?

    Looks like this will be quite a nice thing to see.

  9. Is Soap Net cable channel still operating? Perhaps it could be on there too

    @Bra Saxs
    Ahhh you brought back the memories, the best thing about Passions was the theme song. But no they couldn’t bring it back, didn’t the cast member who played the doll pass away??

  11. Great idea. This is the future. Within the next couple of years most people will have their TV sets hooked up to the net.
    I think more and more shows will move online.

  12. Yes, the days of FTA TV and Pay TV with their current business model(s) are fast coming to an end. More power to the end viewers if they can access content from the studios and content creators themselves. And not be restricted to the whims, likes and dislikes of the FTA and Pay TV gatekeepers.

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