Author Topic: GSN and SoapNet (Read 9008 times)

The Pyramids · « **on:** August 12, 2010, 08:12:56 PM »

Steve Beverly says on his blog that on August 25 he will be on Stu's show discussing among other things if Sony will take GSN down the same path as it has with SoapNet.

Anyone know what this would mean? I just scanned the networks schedule and its what I expected, a mix of reruns of daytime and nightime soaps throughout the day.

gamed121683 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 12, 2010, 08:26:35 PM »

So GSN will be replaced with a channel aimed at preschoolers come 2012?

BrandonFG · « **Reply #2 on:** August 12, 2010, 08:27:04 PM »

[quote name=\'PaulD\' post=\'245827\' date=\'Aug 12 2010, 08:12 PM\']Steve Beverly says on his blog that on August 25 he will be on Stu's show discussing among other things if Sony will take GSN down the same path as it has with SoapNet.

Anyone know what this would mean? I just scanned the networks schedule and its what I expected, a mix of reruns of daytime and nightime soaps throughout the day.[/quote]
IIRC, SoapNet is owned by ABC, but I think I see where you're coming from. I think it would take a bit more for GSN to fold like SoapNet has, but I think one thing that hurts the latter is that the soap industry is in pretty bad shape, and I've seen rumors here and there about the future of daytime soaps (mainly "Days of Our Lives" and "One Life to Live"), but nothing to bite your nails over, all speculation.

Honestly, if I had to guess, I'd say that DVRs being a little more common (and cheaper) may have led to SN considering it redundant to have soaps on during the day and again that same night. Not to mention that each of the Big 3 networks offer their daytime shows online, compared to just a few years ago, when that sounded like a laughable premise.

Come to think of it, I don't see too many same-day cable reruns of anything as much as I used to (i.e. "The View" airing on A&E), and I'm wondering if it's due to the latter reason I stated.

Vahan_Nisanian · « **Reply #3 on:** August 12, 2010, 08:54:19 PM »

Some people have said that YouTube was the main reason why ratings for the older shows on GSN started going down the toilet, because why pay to watch what you want on GSN, when you can just see your favorite shows from the past for free on YouTube. What are your thoughts on this?

JasonA1 · « **Reply #4 on:** August 12, 2010, 09:43:14 PM »

[quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'245834\' date=\'Aug 12 2010, 05:54 PM\']Some people have said that YouTube was the main reason why ratings for the older shows on GSN started going down...What are your thoughts on this?[/quote]

My thought is: who are these "some people?"

-Jason

Mr. Matté · « **Reply #5 on:** August 13, 2010, 06:40:47 AM »

Why watch on Youtube when those clips are all full of extra junk? I can watch those same shows on GSN without watermarks that cover up some important gameplay or bumpers that block the credits.

/Wait, no I can't!

Vahan_Nisanian · « **Reply #6 on:** August 13, 2010, 09:07:22 AM »

Off-topic, but if there's one thing that I'd say has improved about mitller2006 (at least I think so anyways), it would be his pre-exisitng game show episode output. His most recent upload, a 1985 episode of Press Your Luck, didn't have any of the following:

Start-of-video bumpers
Watermarks

In other words, they were both completely absent.

catnap1972 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 13, 2010, 10:32:07 AM »

[quote name=\'gamed121683\' post=\'245829\' date=\'Aug 12 2010, 08:26 PM\']So GSN will be replaced with a channel aimed at preschoolers come 2012?[/quote]

This.

Kind of irrelevant to make a comparison to the way SoapNet programs their network seeing as it'll cease to exist in a couple of years

colonial · « **Reply #8 on:** August 13, 2010, 12:35:06 PM »

I recently read an interview with the EP of "Days of Our Lives" regarding the show's latest ratings plunge -- he said that NBC was not "hitting the panic button," because viewership was actually stable due to the show's online feed being "the fourth-most popular TV show on the Web." While the EP's claims about NBC not panicking may be dubious, I found the latter comment to be interesting.

The daytime drama genre seems to be gaining some presence online -- not only current network shows but Web-only dramas starring actors familiar to long-time fans.

Is there a site online that lists popular DVRed shows? Thought I read somewhere that a few daytime soaps were on top of the DVR list, but I'm drawing a blank as to where I found it.

As far as SoapNet goes, the channel pretty much waved the white flag some time ago. It went the GSN route and experimented with "reality"-style programming in prime time -- all of the shows bombed. Original, in-house programming centered around the daytime genre went away a few years back, and the commercial load on SoapNet seems to be the same 4-5 promos and ads running on a continuous loop.

At least GSN appears to be still trying, given their plans to produce several new shows in the coming months.

JD

weaklink75 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 13, 2010, 05:43:58 PM »

Plus the fact that they're starting an HD feed on 9/15, per Buzzerblog...I think the channel plus the ancillary stuff is going to keep GSN around (their WorldWinner site is apparently really profitable apparently).

clemon79 · « **Reply #10 on:** August 13, 2010, 06:09:52 PM »

GSN starting an HD channel makes not one damned bit of sense to me. And you're talking to possibly the biggest proponent of starting-of-HD-channels on the planet.

Vahan_Nisanian · « **Reply #11 on:** August 13, 2010, 06:46:31 PM »

The most upsetting possibility to come out of this is GSN cropping the shows that were originally in 4:3 to give them a "fake widescreen" look. I can't tell you how much I HATE (emphasis on "HATE") "fake widescreen"!

Any show that was shot in 4:3 should be in 4:3, and only in 4:3. Period.

clemon79 · « **Reply #12 on:** August 13, 2010, 07:06:59 PM »

[quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'245871\' date=\'Aug 13 2010, 03:46 PM\']Any show that was shot in 4:3 should be in 4:3, and only in 4:3. Period.[/quote]
Agreed, but the resolution would be so horrific on a show cropped in that way that they would be insane to do it.

That said, we've seen their compression work.

(The solution to that, by the way, is simply to continue watching the SD channel.)

NickintheATL · « **Reply #13 on:** August 13, 2010, 07:51:32 PM »

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'245872\' date=\'Aug 13 2010, 07:06 PM\']Agreed, but the resolution would be so horrific on a show cropped in that way that they would be insane to do it.[/quote]

There is an even worse alternative: stretching. (cringes)

Quote

That said, we've seen their compression work.

(The solution to that, by the way, is simply to continue watching the SD channel.)

I already do that with a lot of channels (Adult Swim, Bio, for starters.)

clemon79 · « **Reply #14 on:** August 13, 2010, 08:10:36 PM »

[quote name=\'NicholasM79\' post=\'245873\' date=\'Aug 13 2010, 04:51 PM\']There is an even worse alternative: stretching. (cringes)[/quote]
Stretching wouldn't break my heart, honestly, as that's how I have my TV set to display SD content, so it would be the best of both worlds for me. But I agree that Forced Stretch-O-Vision is a bad thing (looking at you, Turner) and should not be forced on people who don't want it. Give us the content straight and let each viewer decide what they want to do with it.