'All My Children,' 'One Life To Live' Online Move Canceled

"All My Children" and "One Life To Live" won't be coming to the Internet after all.

On Wednesday, Prospect Park, the online company that had said it would be bringing the canceled soaps to the Web, released a statement announcing that the deal had fallen through.

There were signs of trouble earlier in the month, when the online debut of "All My Children" was delayed.

The soap operas were canceled in April, but Prospect Park soon signed a licensing deal and announced the now-doomed plan to bring the shows online.

Below, read the full statement:

After five months of negotiations with various guilds, hundreds of presentations to potential financial and technology partners, and a hope that we could pioneer a new network for the future, it is with great disappointment that we are suspending our aspirations to revive "One Life to Live" and "All My Children" via online distribution. It is now becoming clear that mounting issues make our ability to meet our deadlines to get OLTL on the air in a reasonable time period following its January 13, 2012 ABC finale impossible.

We believed the timing was right to launch an Online TV Network anchored by these two iconic soap operas, but we always knew it would be an uphill battle to create something historical, and unfortunately we couldn't ultimately secure the backing and clear all the hurdles in time. We believe we exhausted all reasonable options apparent to us, but despite enormous personal, as well as financial cost to ourselves, we failed to find a solution.

While we narrowed in on a financial infrastructure, the contractual demands of the guilds, which regulate our industry, coupled with the program's inherent economic challenges ultimately led to this final decision. In the end, the constraints of the current marketplace, including the evolution and impact of new media on our industry simply proved too great a match for even our passion.

In our opinion, new models like this can only work with the cooperation of many people striving to make them happen, and we would like to thank and praise the numerous people who tried to help and showed us incredible support. We are extremely grateful to the fans and media who showed great support to us through this process, to ABC who did everything in their control to help, and we are especially grateful for the support and encouragement from many of the Soaps' cast and crew themselves.

Comments

[kawiman]

05:49 PM on 01/15/2012

well,I am a 61 year old male and have been watching all my children since 1973.and yes it bummed me out that it went off cause I really miss that hour a day with a show that I knew every character so well .but if any network had any sense at all they would put it back on cause the advertisements that would be seen by all the people who liked the show would have to generate revenue.I mean I won't die without it,but I do wish it was still on.enough said!

[59andopinionated]

04:25 AM on 01/15/2012

I am very disturbed that All My Children and One Life to Live have been canceled and ABC has refused to sell the rights to the shows. I started watching these shows from the very beginning and they gave me an escape from my reality when I needed it. I realize that the soaps might get a little out in left field when it came to things being probable, but that's what made them great. To think that someone else was going through some really bad times but that they would prevail in the end, that made it bearable for me to go through some difficult times. Now I'm worried about General Hospital. Also, I tried to watch The Chew and found it boring and repetitious with other talk shows. I have since turned to the Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives and found that they're pretty good. However, I would go back to AMC and OLTL if they came back. Now, I hear there's talk of getting rid of Soapnet. If that happens, I'm just going to watch movies on DVDs and forget watching television. Soaps have been a part of television history for many years and have many loyal fans. These are not loyal fans of ABC, but of the soaps. Get rid of the soaps and the fans will leave and, eventually, ABC will have many more financial problems. I refuse to watch this reality crap. DO THE RIGHT THING, LISTEN TO YOUR VIEWERS.

[rmaxile002]

04:14 PM on 01/12/2012

I think this is horrible. I am a 20 year old college student and I grew up on this. I can honestly say that myself along with many of my other college mates are seriously hurt by the cancellations of these shows. The world is changing so much from when we were children but to take such a big part of our childhoods away is so disturbing. Even today as we sit in class as college students we still want to come home or stop in the student union to watch the wonderful soaps. I just can't believe that people can make such a horrible decision to take these shows off. And the statement of viewers not wanting entertaintment but wanting information is outrageous. I mean seriously what is going to happen? The network is now going to be a shopping network or talk show network? That is ridiculous! The fact that television is becoming so materialistic in its newest attempts to please viewers is failing. Eventually networks will lose all its viewers because they are taking away what some people call home. But you will always have viewers for the shows because each generation has some connections to these shows. But now that that has changed only so much can change with it and I don't think its going to be much.

[Diane Williams ThomasJoy]

12:11 AM on 01/06/2012

LOSING THE SOAPS IS LIKE LOSING A CHILDHOOD FRIEND.
The cancellation and departure of ABC' s decades long shows in one season has been very traumatic. The loss of OLTL, AMC, and Oprah is too much to handle. I TVO these shows as a temporary escape from a difficult life. However, I would pay any media outlet to continue this form of entertainment. Some people drink, smoke or use drugs for a temporary escape from the realities of life: while some of us enjoyed ABC DAY-TIME. I WILL BE BOYCOTTING ABC DAY-TIME for being insensitive to long-term loyal fans of these shows. Take that to the bank.

[Rhiannnonn 1]

06:58 AM on 01/06/2012

I think that the idea of boycotting is great. In fact, I've taken up watching "Days of Our Lives" for something to do during that hour. (Ya' hear that ABC? I've gone to the competition because of the stupidity of the jerk who made the decision to kill off AMC and OLTL! I'll bet you he really made that decision just because he would be leaving at the end of January. Hey ABC: Did you ever think that the guy may have made the decision out of spite for his job ending??)

I really do not believe that these shows are not making money. All you have to do is watch a few episodes on the ABC website for it to become abundantly clear that each of these hour long programs have been chopped up with 25 minutes of commercials.

"The Chew?" "The Revolution?" I won't be caught dead watching those programs! I'm sure they're just cheap knock-offs of The Food Channel and Style Channel, etc. If I wanted to watch that sort of programming, I'd be watching those channels. If they were so desperate to run those shows, why not leave our soaps alone and run them just before the over-night ABC news? There would be your perfect slots for that kind of programing.

I have to agree with Erika Slezak, it is bulls--t. In fact, I would go as far (being polite of course) as to tell ABC: IT S - - KS!

[Diane Williams ThomasJoy]

11:01 PM on 01/07/2012

Agree Rhiannnonn, ABC daytime made me feel like cheap date.

[blessed788]

12:24 AM on 01/12/2012

I hate the fact of them taking the soaps off the air. There are a lot of young people that watched the shows like myself. I have a large number of people that I work with that record the shows to watch later when they get home. I was so amazed at how many people watch the same soaps I did. This is a loss for ABC and the fans they never knew existed. There is a very large fan base that are not home when the soaps are on but they record it on their DVR's and the television do not have to be on to record the soap. I do not know if anyone took that in consideration. I work with about 75 or 80 people who look forward to coming home and watching the soaps on ABC. We are all upset and disappointed in the craziest decision to remove the most popular soaps. We have too many reality TV shows as it and we have several eating shows that are more popular than the Chew so why bring on the same thing that people are not interested in. The soaps were away for the fans to relax and to forget about their everyday problems for a little while by being entertained by well created drama. It is like a never ending play full of emotion, passion, and excitement. I agree with Erika Slezak also.

[ruthypatrick46]

02:23 PM on 01/03/2012

Boy yall really done a fine job getting one life to live cancelled and i hope you lose so much money you go in debt it will deserve you right

[nbenkowich]

11:07 PM on 12/29/2011

Someone needs to talk to Opra Winfrey. She's got the financial means to produce All My Children, One LIfe to Live and Brothers and Sisters on her "OWN" channel, which would help her ratings go up.... Change the names of the soaps to "All Our Children and Many Lives to Live" and hire Ms. Dixon to continue to still write them. The actors would be willing to come back to work.
ABC cancelled both shows, but still wants to control them with their rights. ABC should listen to it's viewers and not their checkbooks. Greed is a sickness and ABC is sick.
I have been watching ABC soaps for 43 years and never got tired of them. The story lines kept you INTERESTED and quessing what was going to happen next. Cooking shows and the reality TV shows (I have been told) are BORING and NOT what us soap fans want.
******BOYCOTT ABC network********* and watch all the soap replacement shows ratings go in the toilet and then see will happen to ABC next.

Senior65

[BUDDIE]

04:25 PM on 01/03/2012

I agree with you 100%, I wish Oprah would bring our soaps to OWN channel, she would certainly be our hero if she did! Claudia Knight

[Sarah Mazakis]

02:58 PM on 01/06/2012

Right on nbenkowich!!!! I think that would definately work!! The reason why they think the ratings have gone down is bc alot of people are DVR'ing them and not as many are watching them live anymore, I like being able to fast forward the commercials and watch All My Children when I want! There so stupid they don't realize there are still alot of people watching these soaps! I am sooooooo ticked off and sad that All My Children is gone! It was getting so good and now I'll never know what happens! Thankfully Days of our Lives is still on, but I don't know how long that's going to last either. I am so sick of reality and cooking shows replacing the good shows, no one watches that crap!

[Paris55]

01:42 PM on 12/04/2011

IMO - the Kardashians have sucked the "real" out of reality TV. Its the beginning of the end for Reality TV. Continuing drama is slowing coming back due to the high demand. TNT is revitalizing Dallas with the older cast and their offspring will be the center of the storylines. They are filming now and will start showing in 2012. As I stated before, the Reelz channel picked up the Kennedys after the History channel spent millions, got scared of the Kennedy or the Sinatra family and won 4 Emmys including Best Actor in a Mini Series for Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy. Years ago, Bravo and A&E were the diamond of the Arts networks. Now look at them, reality crap. We as viewers, have to demand what we want. If ABC does not want to release the rights to OLTL & AMC, boycott them. The rumor for a while had been that a few other networks were interested in trying to purchase OLTL, AMC and revitalizing Brothers & Sisters but ABC will not provide the rights. We need to overflow ABC with comments thru their website, Contact Us, FB pages. Also, ABC is about to let go of SoapNet next month. We need to include in our comments that if SoapNet is taken off the air, ABC will lose thousands if not a few million viewers. I for one, have not watched ABC since their untimely cancellation announcements last Spring...and they call themselves the 'FAMILIY NETWORK'!

[Pumpkinlc]

03:27 PM on 12/02/2011

We should all have the right to watch what we want! Day time tv down right sucks! Soaps gave us diversity and that's the American way! Taking the soaps off the air is down right Un-American! Night time has gotten much better, but all the good shows get canceled quickly! I am sick of being a slave to the net works! The soaps may have gotten boring from time to time,but at least I could count on them sticking around! We have enough talk shows! Share the air and make us all happy! Keep the soaps! If you get rid of GH as well, then I am boycotting ABC all together!

[Heidi Usey Romero]

12:28 PM on 11/30/2011

Guiding Light, OLTL & many many great soaps cancelled & for what??? Stupid "reality" shows like Kardashian shit...makes me so angry!

[rockinroll]

09:23 AM on 11/30/2011

These shows a FAR superior to the useless junk on daytime. They provided context and understanding for many taboo social issues. It is a tragic loss for all of the actors and production workers who will be added to the unemployed rosters so that Networks can have short lived profits.

[rain33]

07:22 AM on 11/29/2011

good! i'm tired of seeing susan lucci because she has been on tv for over 40 years! if cbs keeps hiring abc writers, their shows will be canceled too! they should enjoy their life and find something else to do!

[scorpioleidy]

12:53 PM on 11/28/2011

I still can't believe people sit at home & watch this f.ak.e stuff anymore ... day after day, year after year. Now maybe they'll have to go out & get themselves a real life.
Or sw.it.ch over to the People's Court or Judge Judy or something else... :)

[Buck Winthrop]

03:20 PM on 11/27/2011

Why can't people just accept that no one cares anymore about these shows??

[raker]

11:22 AM on 11/27/2011

Soap operas are not media. Media is short for news media.

[WhirledTraveler]

01:25 PM on 11/27/2011

Such a declaration leads me to believe you see yourself as the arbiter of all things media. You are not.

[raker]

02:36 PM on 11/27/2011

It's not a matter for arbitration. It's just a fact.

[Rosalee Harris]

08:20 PM on 11/28/2011

Yes its about media because its more about the medium that the soap opera was going to be picked up in than it is about soap opera itself therefore its a media story.

[raker]

12:05 PM on 11/29/2011

Media means news media.

[raker]

04:17 PM on 11/29/2011

Media can mean means of mass communication such as newspapers, TV, etc, or it is shorthand for News Media. Soap operas are neither. They are entertainment.

[Gary Storch]

09:47 AM on 11/27/2011

The weekend HBO/Showtime series have become the new "soaps" for the new generation.
Just look at "True Blood", "Dexter" and "Homeland".
These are the new evening soaps with no censorship or limits on their viewer excitement.
Network TV and its new offshoots are dead.