This just in: O is not Captain Save-a-Soap!
The Queen of Talk, who’ll end her 25 year run as host of The Oprah Winfrey Show next month, has released a video message to fans explaining why her Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) won’t be offering a new lease on life to two of ABC’s recently cancelled soap operas. The Alphabet Network sent shockwaves through what’s left of TV’s devoted sudster fans last week when it announced that it was pulling the plug on the ratings-challenged All My Children (AMC) and One Life to Live (OLTL) after more than 40 years on the air. The move was so controversial that the president of housewares giant Hoover has yanked commercials for the company’s famed vacuum cleans from airing on ABC.
“I understand what it feels like to have a show you love off the air, I appreciate that you all think I could save the soaps, but here is the bone marrow truth. The soaps have been an institution in broadcast history and television because they had the support of the audience,” she began.
“Believe me, if there was a dime left to be made from them on broadcast television it would still be happening,” she continued. “I will not be taking on the responsibility of trying to revive an institution that for all intent and all purpose indicates that that time has come for it to be over. So thank you for believing I could save them. But I really can’t.”
One Life to Live premiered on ABC on July 15, 1968. All My Children debuted on the network Jan. 5, 1970. The long-running daytime dramas will come to an end in Sept. 2011 and Jan. 2012 respectively. A food-themed talkshow, The Chew, and a makeover show, The Revolution, will replace the ousted sudster on the network’s daily daytime schedule, the network has announced.
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