For more than 10 years fans of daytime soap operas have been coming to Soap Opera Network to find out how their favorite soap was faring in the weekly ratings report. From time to time we would also provide analysis of how they stacked up when compared to their broadcast counterparts in the talk show and game show genres, but we’ve never looked at how the broadcast soaps (and to a lesser extent the broadcast talk and game shows) compared to syndicated television. Not that it wasn’t easy to provide a comparison, it was just never something we found necessary. In recent months, with the introduction of several syndicated talk shows including “Katie” and “The Steve Harvey Show,” which together took over the 3:00 PM slot from “General Hospital” in much of the country this past September after “GH” moved to 2:00 PM, and the second season without “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” things have changed. Recently, Broadcasting & Cable came out with a report that showed how syndicated programs might be a solid alternative to our soaps in the key demographics when it comes to Madison Avenue buying advertising time. While we wouldn’t want advertisers to give up on our favorite shows, B&C does provide a solid rationalization and even highlights the value of soap operas when it comes to the all important key women demos (Women 18-49, Women 25-54, etc).

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(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Beginning on Monday, September 12 look for John O’Hurley to debut in the role of film producer Kit Sterling on “All My Children.” Mr. Sterling will approach Pine Valley’s leading lady Erica Kane (Susan Lucci) in an effort to convince her to turn her new book, “Erica Kane: Uncensored,” into a big-screen production. O’Hurley is best known for the recurring role of Elaine’s (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) boss John Peterman on the former NBC mega-hit series “Seinfeld” and his stint on the first season of ABC’s hit reality series “Dancing with the Stars.” He also hosted the popular syndicated game show “Family Fued.”

O’Hurley is very familiar to the world of daytime television. He was married to “AMC” star Eva LaRue, who is among the many returning actors to “AMC” this summer, from 1992 to 1994. The actor appeared on ABC’s “Loving” and “General Hospital,” CBS’s “As the World Turns” and “The Young and The Restless” and NBC’s “Santa Barbara.” The dancing champion has also guest-starred on numerous series and with a distinctive tone has found success doing voice-over work, as well.

Look for O’Hurley to appear in several episodes of the 41-year-old daytime drama this September. “AMC” last airs on ABC on Friday, September 23. Production company Prospect Park has licensed ”AMC” and “One Life to Live” from ABC. Following their extinction on ABC, new episodes of both soaps are expected to be available to fans again in some form at some point in 2012.