Monday, August 8, 2011

Brian Frons' New Deadline Interview: More Spew


New Brian Frons interview...from Deadline

Brian Frons Says ABC Did a Good Job 'Nuturing Soaps' For 40 years But Can't Find a Solution to Their Decline, So He Axed Them
Dumbest exec in television?

"The not-altogether-surprising intense protest sparked by ABC's announced axing of it's long-running soaps All My Children and One Life to Live demonstrated to ABC Daytime president Brian Frons that "we actually did a good job (promoting and nurturing them) for all of these last 40 years," he told Deadline privately during a TCA lunch designed to promote one of the soaps' daytime successors, the food show The Chew. "I think we've spent 40-plus years trying to keep the soap-opera audience happy. So in an odd way, (the outcry) is actually good. It's just sad that we don't have a solution." However, a deal with producer Prospect Park has been cemented to relaunch both soaps during first-quarter 2012, and there's been talk of enlisting a second production partner in cable television as well. But that remains uncertain.

Frons said that after the Prospect Park deal fell into place, All My Children's producers were forced to scramble to make the series ending more open-ended rather than final, since the series would now be continuing on after all. (All My Children is scheduled to leave ABC on Sept. 23; One Life to Live in January.) He added that the cancellations became necessary due to diminishing returns at the network. "We were at that point where we had to sit and look at what we were doing, and see if there were different opportunities for us in terms of serving a bigger audience. We looked at what was happening on cable -- in the food space, the lifestyle space, the talk space, the reality space -- and we just saw a very large audience and an opportunity."
Well, well..let's hope that the Ratings Game looks at Daytime "CHEW" somehow differently than it did when soaps were on because if you use Nielson, it's going to be about the same result. He just doesn't get it. OLTL has had ZERO promotion during the last few years and their ratings have zoomed up to the top of the heap. Maybe if Frons had fought for more fair-balanced RATINGS counting we'd not be in this mess.  Maybe if he would have payed attention to the WRITING of the shows, it would have helped.  Not to mention not moving them to SoapNet, which would have been an awesome next-step for the scripted stories.  

12 comments:

  1. Oh Brian you 'old' smoothie you. glad to hear about the continuation of the soaps but I have a feeling The Chew will not fare all that well-I certainly have no desire to watch.

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  2. I too am very curious to see the ratings for 'The Chew.' I know that I won't be watching either and I wonder given the audience that is near a television in the middle of the day how many people will be watching? It seems to me that they have little respect for the daytime audience, but I guess we'll see.

    This has probably been asked and answered, but has GH been given an official time table? I would love to see GH's ratings soar with the new writing. I know I am watching more.

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  3. "we actually did a good job (promoting and nurturing them)
    ========================
    What?!?! Frons your nose is growing!

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  4. I think that Brian Frons is under the illusion that people will flock to another cooking show and another talk show. First...I don't cook and don't intend to start now and I could care less about gossip or 5 people sitting around a table trying to outtalk each other.... I remember when all these talk shows came on the air before...Phil Donahue, Sally Jessie and a bunch more, they all became silly after awhile because they ran out of things to talk about that hadn't been said and done before. I think that the network is looking for another Oprah...I didn't watch her then and I won't be watching now. Reality shows are cheap and the networks are looking to save money...funny thing is that with more people out of work and sitting at home they want to be entertained and cooking (when you have no money) and people telling you how to solve problems (you have enough of your own) is not going to cut it....these shows will be gone in a couple of years because everyone gets on the same bandwagon and then there is a glut of the same type show on every main channel. I feel sorry for the shut-ins who cannot leave their home to pursue other activities...they are the ones that are stuck with this crappy daytime programming.

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  5. "Not to mention not moving them to SoapNet, which would have been an awesome next-step for the scripted stories."

    Interesting statement.... b/c new scripted series are doing well on cable networks. And those that are written well are soaring. SOA is a prime example.

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  6. What a load! I wonder if even he believes what he says. I know I won't be watching "The Chew". I like Clinton Kelly on "What Not to Wear" but not enough to watch another cooking show. Soaps and soap fans have been treated like dirt by ABC for years and I'll always believe they intentionally ran them into the ground so that a cheaper show could replace them. I'm glad to see Guza out but it's too little late and wish Frons would get the ax as well. Can't help but wonder what other craptastic shows they have coming our way that can have names that rhyme with "The View".

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  7. What the HELL is this guy smoking???

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  8. If Brian Frons thinks giving the audience the opposite of what they ask for (good writing, romance, love, etc), is nurturing, then I just give up.

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  9. Brian Frons = Brain Fart!!!

    All I can say is, he just sounds like a real grade A moron!!

    I still for the life of me figure out how he still kept his job after all these years???

    When or if someone knows the answer, please enlighten me.

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  10. Brian Frons definitions are always different than mine.

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  11. Pretty helpful data, thanks so much for this article.

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  12. Very useful material, much thanks for this article.

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