ABC Announces End Date for “All My Children”

ABC has announced that “All My Children” will wrap up on September 23, 2011. There was already an announcement about the end of “One Life to Live” for the third week of January. And don’t be shocked when they issue the death knell for “General Hospital,” to make room for Katie Couric. It’s just a watching and waiting game now, mostly to see how the completely unwanted replacement shows–the dreaded “Chew”–will do once they hit the air. As I’ve said before, the wholesale killing of the soap operas is a huge mistake and one that will resonate for years. Starting in the late fall, ABC daytime will be absent all of its tentpole personalities: Regis Philbin, Susan Lucci, Erika Slezak and the whole “One Life to Live” gang, and, of course, Oprah. That’s a lot of audience loyalty to throw out the window at once. On top of that, “One Life to Live,” which has received little support from ABC over the years. is doing great right now in the ratings. It’s the third highest rated of the six remaining soaps, beating both “General Hospital” and CBS’s “Bold and the Beautiful,” as well as “All My Children.” “OLTL” is doing so well, and building every week, that by its end in January ABC Daytime is going to have a lot of angry viewers to deal with. But Procter & Gamble and CBS got away with killing their shows, so ABC probably figures why not? Meanwhile there are reports–unsubstantiated–that ABC has turned down offers to sell the shows. If that’s true, it’s worse than stupid.