Photo Credit: Southern Broadcasting, Inc.

Citing poor financial conditions, ABC affiliate WKDH, located in Houston, Mississippi and serving the Columbus, Tupelo, and West Point television markets, will cease operations at the end of this month.

“It is with extreme regret, remorse, and disappointment that we must make the following announcement. Due to financial conditions in recent years, effective at 11:59 p.m. on August 31, 2012, WKDH will terminate operations for the foreseeable future,” Southern Broadcasting, Inc., licensee of WKDH through its local marketing agreement (LMA) deal with NBC affiliate WTVA, said in a statement on the affiliates website. “It has been our pleasure to have served you and provided you with the highest quality of service and programming in the Columbus-Tupelo-West Point television market since we launched broadcast operations in 2001, and through the complex conversion to high definition television in 2007. We wish to thank you, our loyal viewers and all those individuals who helped in our efforts to serve the public interest, for your support over the years.”

WKDH, Channel 45, began operations in June 2001, nearly six years after station WVSB (now known as WLOV) transitioned into a FOX affiliate and left the area without an official ABC affiliate. During that time period cable providers sifted ABC signals from Memphis, Tennessee affiliate WPTY.

WKDH did not air any local programming as its primary service was in providing viewers with ABC’s content. Outside of ABC’s programming, the station aired the syndicated programs “Rachael Ray,” “The Nate Berkus Show,” “The Wendy Williams Show,” “Access Hollywood,” “The Insider” and “Entertainment Tonight.” WKDH also aired re-runs of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” “Frasier” and “Grey’s Anatomy.”

ABC has not announced how it plans to accommodate those affected viewers in the television market.

via Press Release

Crag Sjodin/ABC

“THE CHEW” TAKES A BITE OUT OF ABC’S NEW FALL SEASON WITH A ONE-HOUR PRIMETIME SPECIAL, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Vanessa Williams, Terry O’Quinn, Reba, Hayden Panettiere, Jami Gertz and Andre Braugher Among the Stars Featured

Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly and Daphne Oz travel coast to coast — from California and New York to Hawaii and Nashville — to bring viewers a sneak peek at the ABC Fall Primetime lineup. Interviewing some of the network’s hottest new stars, the special has something for everyone. From diva-filled musical drama and deep and dark desires to quirky and “out of this world” comedies and thrillers, “The Chew Presents ABC’s Primetime Fall Preview Special” airs Sunday, September 2 (7:00-8:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.

Highlights of the special include:

• “666 Park Avenue” stars Vanessa Williams (“Desperate Housewives“) and Terry O’Quinn (“Lost”) enjoy cocktails and canapés with Clinton Kelly from a chic Manhattan hotel room to talk about their sexy, seductive new primetime address. “666 Park Avenue” premieres Sunday, September 30 at 10:00 p.m., ET.

• Carla Hall travels home as she visits “Nashville” star Hayden Panettiere (“Heroes”) on the legendary stage of The Grand Ole Opry and visits with her co-stars, Clare Bowen and Sam Palladio, at the iconic Bluebird Cafe. The series premieres Wednesday, October 10 at 10:00 p.m., ET.

• Aloha from Oahu, Hawaii, the breathtaking location for ABC’s new action adventure series, “Last Resort,” premiering Thursday, September 27 at 8:00 p.m., ET. Series star Andre Braugher (“Men of a Certain Age”; “Homicide: Life on the Street”) sits oceanside with Daphne Oz for comfort food, conversation and a hometown surprise, all amidst the palm trees and island breeze.

• Carla Hall catches up with the stars of the new family comedy series “The Neighbors” at Johnnie’s Coffee Shop in Los Angeles, where Jami Gertz (“Entourage “and 80s classics “Square Pegs” and “Sixteen Candles”) and other stars share a preview of their quirky new sitcom that’s sure to bring the family together for a night of laughs. “The Neighbors” premieres Wednesday, September 26 at 9:30 p.m., ET, and moves to its regular time slot of 8:30 p.m., beginning Wednesday, October 3.

• It’s a food truck fiesta as Daphne Oz meets country music superstar Reba (“Reba”) to talk about her new sitcom, “Malibu Country,” which premieres Friday, November 2 at 8:30 p.m., ET.

Gordon Elliott is the executive producer of “The Chew Presents ABC’s Primetime Fall Primetime Special.”

About “The Chew”:
Celebrating and exploring life through food, “The Chew” is an innovative and groundbreaking daytime series co-hosted by a dynamic group of engaging, fun, relatable experts in food, lifestyle, and entertaining. Produced by Gordon Elliott‘s Chew Productions for the ABC Television Network, “The Chew” serves up everything food — from cooking and home entertaining to food trends, restaurants, holidays and more — all aimed at making life better, fuller and more fun. Featuring celebrity chefs Mario Batali, Michael Symon, and Carla Hall, entertaining expert Clinton Kelly and health and wellness enthusiast Daphne Oz, “The Chew” is a leap forward into a delicious new kind of lifestyle series.

Disney/ABC Television Group

As Soap Opera Network first reported on March 16, Deadline‘s Nellie Andreeva is reporting that ABC has officially canceled “The Revolution” and plans to slide “General Hospital” into the 2:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT timeslot beginning Monday, September 10, the same day the network hands over the 3:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT time period to affiliates. The news was later reported by The New York Times.

It was last week Wednesday (April 4, 2012) when Soap Opera Network Tweeted, via a very reliable source, that within ten days a decision on the future of “General Hospital” would be made by the network. Tomorrow, April 12 (or Saturday, April 14, depending on how you look at it), marks the one year anniversary of Black Thursday (April 14, 2011), which is best known to many as the day that ABC announced the cancellations of both “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” and the launches of “The Chew” and “The Revolution.” It was also the day Source Interlink announced a licensing deal with American Media over Soap Opera Digest and newly defunct Soap Opera Weekly.

Read More >>

Disney/ABC Television Group

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Before we post the daytime soap opera ratings for the week of March 26-30, 2012, our friend Marc Berman at TV Media Insights has posted the latest ratings for daytime talk shows and things are still looking very bad for ABC’s “The Revolution” while “The Chew” has sustained a similar total audience in comparison to former time-period occupant “All My Children.” “The View” was in repeats, while “The Talk” on CBS was up year-to-year in total viewers and Women 25-54 rating, flat in Women 18-49 rating and down in Women 18-34 rating.

What follows is a look at the daytime talk show ratings for the week of March 26-30, 2012 and a breakdown of how “Revolution” compares to “One Life to Live” on a year-to-year basis.

“One Life to Live” on ABC began a ratings trajectory on the plus side year-to-year beginning with the week of March 14-18, 2011 in total viewers, when compared to its performance for the same week in 2010 (week of March 29 – April 2, 2010), while either flat or down in some of the key sales demographics (2011 vs 2010), but in 2012 the soaps replacement, “The Revolution,” has eroded any and all audience gains the drama had picked up and has brought in historic lows for the network overall in total viewers, Women 18-49, Women 25-54 and Women 18-34. The “It’s About You” daytime talker tied its historic low in total viewers (1.32 million), and tied or hit new lows in Women 18-49 (0.4/3), Women 25-54 (0.6/4) and Women 18-34 (0.2/2). Year-to-year (week of March 28 – April 1, 2011), “One Life to Live” performed much stronger in total viewers (2.57 million), Women 18-49 (1.0/6), Women 25-54 (1.2/7) and Women 18-34 (0.6/4).

According to Berman, “Revolution” is down a whopping 49% in total viewers compared to “One Life,” while losing 60% in Women 18-49, 50% in Women 25-54 and a jaw dropping 67% in Women 18-34.

CBS’ “The Talk,” featuring some of country music’s biggest stars as guests including Reba McIntyre in promotion of “The 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards” that aired on Sunday, April 1, jumped 10% year-to-year in total viewers (1.96 million to 2.16 million), 11% in Women 25-54 (1.0/7), while flat in Women 18-49 (0.8/5) and down 20% in Women 18-34.

For a look at how “The Chew” performed compared to “All My Children” on the year-ago and more on daytime talk, head on over to TV Media Insights.

Disney/ABC Television Group

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — “General Hospital” and “The Revolution” are both fighting for a spot on the fall 2012-2013 schedule on ABC Daytime, although neither appear to be making a solid case for themselves.

During the week of March 19-23, 2012, ”General Hospital” was down in numerous key categories year-to-year and hit or tied new series lows in Women 18-49 rating (tied its series low with a 0.8), Women 18-34 (new series low with a 0.3). The remaining daytime soap on ABC was down by a mere 1,000 viewers from its performance the week prior (week of March 12-16, 2012), but the show has hemorrhaged a massive 622,000 viewers compared to its performance on the year-ago (week of March 21-25, 2011). “GH’s” most recent performance is a far cry from its comparable week last year when the soap was on the rise, which helped secure its future just before the network announced it was canceling “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.”

After hitting a series low during the week of March 12-16, 2012, “The Revolution was primed and ready for another series low during the week of March 19-23, 2012, according to figures released Thursday by Marc Berman, Editor in Chief of TV Media Insights.

“One Life to Live,” which last aired on Friday, January 13 of this year, had more than a one million total viewer advantage over “Revolution” and performed 46-60% higher in the key sales demographics including Women 18-49 and Women 18-34 on the comparable week last year (week of March 21-25, 2011). ”Revolution” averaged  just 1.32 million viewers compared to “One Life’s” performance the year before when the ABC soap had a total average audience of 2.51 million viewers. On the year-ago in Women 18-49, “One Life” held a 0.9/6 rating compared to the 0.5/3 “Revolution” received (difference of 44%) and in Women 25-54 “One Life” had a 1.3/8 rating compared to “Revolution’s” 0.7/2 (difference of 47%). The “It’s About You” talker barely rated in Women 18-34 with its 0.2/2, which was a difference of 60% from “One Life’s” performance the year before when the soap hit a 0.5/4 rating. Note: ”One Life to Live” began its upward swing in all ratings categories beginning with the week of March 14-18, 2011 (the trend continued until its series finale earlier this year).

Ratings Comparison per TV Media Insights:

• One Life to Live – Week of 3/21/11
  Viewers: 2.51 million, Women 25-54: 1.3/ 8, Women 18-49: 0.9/ 6, Women 18-34: 0.5/ 4

• The Revolution – Week of 3/19/12
  Viewers: 1.32 million, Women 25-54: 0.7/ 4, Women 18-49: 0.5/ 3, Women 18-34: 0.2/ 2

Percent Change – The Revolution vs. One Life to Live
Viewers: -47, Women 25-54: -46, Women 18-49: -44, Women 18-34: -60

If “Revolution” wasn’t problem enough for ABC, “The Chew” has returned to performing below “All My Children” in key ratings categories. Note: “The View” was in reruns.

For a look at how daytime talk shows performed during the week of March 19-23, 2012 head on over to TV Media Insights. For a look at how daytime soap operas performed, click here.

Craig Sjodin/ABC

Prior to our posting the press release from the Disney/ABC Television Stations Group which revealed the premiere date of “Katie,” Soap Opera Network learned via its sources that ABC had quietly been informing their affiliates of the pending cancellation of “The Revolution,” which has greatly underperformed in key demographics and viewership compared to the series it replaced (“One Life to Live“) back in January.

While this in no way guarantees “General Hospital‘s” placement on the Fall 2012-2013 ABC Daytime schedule once the network cedes the soaps timeslot to affiliates beginning Monday, September 10, the fact that “GH” continuously increases its audience over the performance of “Revolution” in all categories including an uptick of over 900,000 viewers (2.34 million for “GH” vs 1.40 million for “Revolution”), a 100% gain in Women 18-49 rating (1.0 demo for “GH” vs 0.5 for “Revolution”), and a 66% gain in Women 18-34 rating (0.5 for “GH” vs 0.3 for “Revolution”) during the week of March 5-9, 2012 places “GH” in a better position of continuing beyond this summer.

As previously reported, a decision on the future of “General Hospital” is expected to be made in mid-April. Should the soap continue beyond the launch of “Katie,” it is expected to move to 2:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT/CT timeslot on the ABC Television Network.

Disney/ABC Television Group

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Call it the case of a pissed off audience or call it a fluke, but whatever it is the mystery of where “General Hospital‘s” audience went by its Friday, March 2, 2012 episode is up in the air.

During the week of February 27-March 2, 2012, when ratings reports started piling in, it was revealed that “General Hospital” recorded some of its highest ratings in as many months (highest total audience since week of January 9, 2012; largest Women 18-49 and biggest Women 25-54 total since week of October 24, 2011), but had the series not nosedived to just over 2 million viewers for its Friday March 2, 2012 episode (just 2,001,000 viewers tuned in per Nielsen Media Research data) when we posted the dailies and averaged above 2.5 million viewers, as it had been trending to do on that date, the reports would have gone on to say “General Hospital” had its largest audience since the week of September 26-30, 2011 (when it averaged 2,597,000 viewers for the week). So what happened? Why such a big drop in total viewership and key demos from the four days prior (2,404,000 on Monday, 2/27; 2,509,000 on Tuesday 2/28; 2,575,000 on Wednesday 2/29; and 2,526,000 on Thursday 3/1)?

According to comments we’ve seen from our SON Community Members and responses in the weekly ratings report, it is likely that “General Hospital” received what is described as the “repeat of death” (ie. a repeat airing pulls down the weekly average for a program). Allegedly, the description for the Friday, March 2, 2012 episode of “GH” was the same as the description for the Thursday, March 1, 2012 episode for the soap, which according to DVR setup standards would result in your DVR (Digital Video Recorder) to misinterpret that Friday’s episode as a repeat and not a new episode, unless of course you scheduled all episodes (repeat and new) to record.

Of course, the other side of the coin could be that viewers were in fact turned off from what they had seen that Friday compared to the four days previously and just decided not to tune in. It isn’t an unlikely scenario as for the same week of September 26-30, 2011 data we cited above, “GH” went from nearly 2.8 million viewers on the Monday to just under 2.4 million by the time Friday came around. From Tuesday to Thursday the show consistently hovered over 2.5 million viewers (as it did during the week of February 27 – March 2, 2012).

We’ll soon find out what direction, if any, that particular episode indicated for the future of “General Hospital” when the latest ratings for the week of March 5-9, 2012 are released sometime today. In the meantime, here is a look at how the talk shows and game shows compare to the soaps based on data for the week February 27-March 2, 2012:

By Network

Network / Households / Total Viewers / Women 18-49 Viewers / Women 25-54 Viewers
1. CBS / 2.6 / 3,499,000 / 624,000 / 819,000
2. NBC / 2.1 / 2,7533,000 / 606,000 / 751,000
3. ABC / 2.0 / 2,536,000 / 541,000 / 729,000

By Show

Total Viewers
1. The Price is Right 2 (CBS) 5,163,000
2. The Young and the Restless (CBS) 4,353,000
3. The Price is Right 1 (CBS) 4,270,000
4. The View (ABC) 3,628,000
5. The Today Show 2 (NBC) 3,473,000
6. The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS) 3,099,000
7. Let’s Make a Deal 2 (CBS) 3,023,000
8. Let’s Make a Deal 1 (CBS) 2,570,000
9. Days of our Lives (NBC) 2,548,000
10. The Chew (ABC) 2,489,000
11. General Hospital (ABC) 2,403,000
12. The Talk (CBS) 2,329,000
13. The Today Show 3 (NBC) 2,289,000
14. The Revolution (ABC) 1,620,00

Note: NBC has begun counting “The Today Show 2″ and “The Today Show 3″ in the weekly ratings averages, thereby increasing its standings in the weekly averages (the network ranks second to CBS in total viewers).

Disney/ABC Television Group

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — On June 6, 2011, ABC finally announced (after months of rumors) that it had signed a deal with former “CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric to host a new daily syndicated talk show, and that said show would replace veteran soap opera “General Hospital” in the 3:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT/CT timeslot. Initially the decision brought fear to soap opera fans, who only two months prior learned that ABC Daytime’s two other veteran soaps (“All My Children” and “One Life to Live“) would be replaced by two new food and lifestyle centered talk shows (“The Chew” and “The Revolution“). Now nearly a year since the announcement it looks like Katie Couric may just be the lifesaver “General Hospital” desperately needs.

According to TV Guide‘s Michael Logan, sources have informed him that the talk show host and her executive producer (former NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker) have expressed their concern to the Disney/ABC Television Group brass, producers of her new talk show, in regards to the poor ratings performance that has been “The Revolution” – Since the talk shows debut in January the program hovers at just over 1.5 million viewers on average. By comparison, “One Life to Live,” which “Revolution” replaced, averaged more than 2.3 million viewers on average and performed better in key sales demos during the same period of time on the year-ago. “Couric and Zucker want to see ’GH’ get that slot because it’s a stronger show, Nielsen-wise, plus Couric does not want to face the wrath of ‘GH’ fans and risk the chance they’ll organize a boycott. Who the hell needs that? So she and Zucker want ‘The Revolution’ to go bye-bye,” the website stated.

With “General Hospital’s” recent uptick in key demos and total viewers since the new dynamic duo of Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati (executive producer and head writer) debuted just a few short weeks ago, for the first time in over a year the soap finally has a fighting chance, but will ABC listen? “They may not have a choice,” said Logan. “In fact, they might even agree at this point. Our spies at Times Square Studios — the new tag for ABC Daytime — tell us the commitment to nonscripted shows remains firm in the ABC daypart but no one is doing handstands over the ones currently in development, which include a doctor show and a game show. While ABC technically has time (though not much) to replace ‘The Revolution’ with more reality, that option is looking way too chancy.”

Should ABC end up keeping “GH” on the air and canceling “The Revolution,” the soap will move to the 2:00 PM ET/1:00 PM CT/PT timeslot beginning in September. According to sources, a decision on the eventual outcome on either series will not be made until at least mid-April.

What Do You Think? Sound Off! below.

Donna Svennevik/ABC

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — “General Hospital” is the only soap opera left on the ABC Daytime schedule and is also the longest running dramatic series in the networks history. Unfortunately, the soap is facing the same cancellation danger that its former network counterparts (“All My Children” and “One Life to Live“) faced just over a year ago before ABC officially announced the two would go off the air in a press release. Before any decision on the future of “GH” is ultimately made, the drama series is showing an uptick in key demos and viewership.

For the week of February 27 – March 2, 2012, “General Hospital” averaged 2.4 million viewers (highest since week of January 9, 2012), 657,000 Women 18-49 viewers (18-week high) and 871,000 Women 25-54 viewers (three-month high) per ratings details released today by Marc Berman of TV Media Insights. Compared to its performance during the week of February 20-24, 2012, “GH” increased its Women 18-49 performance by 59,000 viewers and retained a similar overall viewership total. By comparison, “The Revolution,” which hit its second most-watched week since its debut (week of January 16, 2012), averaged just 1.62 million viewers.

“The Revolution” is down 23 percent in total viewers, 27 percent in Women 25-54 rating, 38 percent in Women 18-49 rating and 40 percent in Women 18-34 rating compared to “One Life to Live’s” performance on the year-ago (week of February 28, 2011).

For more ratings information on “The Revolution,” “The Chew,” “The Talk” and “The View,” check out TV Media Insights.

ABC Press Release:

“The Chew” posted a 7-week high in Total Viewers (2.489 million – since week of 1/9/12), climbing by an impressive 11% over “All My Children’s” year-ago delivery (vs. 2.249 million), by 10% in Women 25-54 (1.1 rating vs. 1.0 rating) and tying in Women 18-34 (0.4 rating) and Women 18-49 (0.7 rating).

“General Hospital” recorded 18-week highs in Women 18-49 (657,000) and Women 25-54 (871,000), since the week of 10/24/11, a 13-week high in Women 18-34 (172,000 – since the week of 11/28/11) and a 7-week high in Total Viewers (2.403 million – since the week of 1/9/12).

“The Revolution” delivered its most-watched week in Women 25-54 (485,000 – tied debut week) and 2nd-most-watched week to date in Total Viewers (1.624 million) and Women 18-49 (351,000), behind only its premiere week, posting an impressive 4th consecutive week of gains in Total Viewers.

Moreover, Friday’s show was the series’ #2 telecast ever in Women 25-54 (531,000), while Wednesday’s show was its #4 telecast to date in Total Viewers (1.761 million).

Crag Sjodin/ABC

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — As in previous weeks, ratings for soaps are unavailable at press time but the numbers are out for talk shows including “The Chew,” “The Talk” and “The View.”

Per Marc Berman at TV Media Insights, ABC’s “The Chew” has reached its largest audiences since premiere week (week of September 26-30, 2011) in viewers while remaining flat in Women 25-54, Women 18-49 and Women 18-34 compared to its post premiere week averages.

Ratings for recently introduced ABC daytime talk show The Chew remained consistent from one week earlier, still trailing former occupant All My Children by noticeable proportions.  Based on the Live Plus Same Day data from Nielsen Media Research for the week of Oct. 17 (week four), The Chew averaged 1.94 million viewers, with no change demographically.  One year earlier, long-running scripted serial All My Children averaged 2.31 million viewers, with the demographic breakdown compared to The Chew as follows:

All My Children (ABC) – Week of 10/18/10
Viewers: 2.31 million, Women 25-54: 1.2/ 8, Women 18-49: 0.8/ 6,
Women 18-34: 0.5/ 3

The Chew (ABC) – Week of 10/17/11
Viewers: 1.94 million, Women 25-54: 0.9/ 5, Women 18-49: 0.6/ 4,
Women 18-34: 0.4/ 2

All My Children Advantage
Viewers: + 19 percent, Women 25-54: +33, Women 18-49: +33,
Women 18-34: +25

The Chew, of course, is cheaper to produce than All My Children, hence the programming change.  But sometimes the value of the audience is more important than the raw dollar figures, and the pending departure of One Life to Live for another talker, The Revolution, is also not likely to resonate in a daypart gutted with similar appeal programming.

For more on “The Chew” and how it compares to “The Talk” and “The View,” head on over to TV Media Insights.