GUIDING LIGHT is featuring a mother and son reunion, a wedding and an emotional confession of love this week as the Olivia and Natalia storyline finally comes to a head. Will Natalia go through with her wedding to Frank despite her feelings for Olivia?Crystal Chappell was really wonderful on today's episode. In addition to Olivia's scenes with Emma and Natalia, I really enjoyed her with Doris today. Those two have interesting friendship potential. Olivia finally admitting her true feelings for Natalia will be an epic payoff in the tradition of true old school soap opera.
Jessica Leccia has raised her game in this storyline as well and has a really bright future ahead of her.
As for Frank Cooper, if he wants to find true love, he may need to crossover to CSI: NEW YORK.
In addition to the storyline, "Otalia" is on the subcriber cover of Soap Opera Digest this week.
Save GUIDING LIGHT!
Roger, love your column but don't you think it is a bit soon to post the clips from todays Guiding Light? It still hasn't aired in many parts of the country and we still want those ratings.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm..."Marley", eh?
ReplyDeleteGood point. But, "Marley", in the hopes you can get word to Ellen Wheeler somehow?....
CBS does not allow "embedding" of its videos. Therefore, someone like Roger can't easily promote your show with legitimate CBS feed.
I think it is fair to ask Roger to wait until 6 pm ET (which is when CBS puts up the streams). But if CBS _really_ wanted Roger to support them and their attempts to milk Otalia-fever for ratings and money, CBS would let him embed their clips. The CBS-ads would still run in his embedded stream.
So, "Marley", in the hopes that you know someone, can you please talk to CBS about this embed problem?
Marley, I understand your point. It was hours after it aired here in NYC so I wasn't even thinking about that. Just wanted to help promote.
ReplyDeleteMark, great point about the CBS clips. In a sense anyone who is posting Otalia clips online is taking potential money away from CBS, but since their clips are not embeddable, not available outside the US and difficult with some computers, it's hard to blame anyone for doing it.
The Nuke clips on YouTube are what brought in the majority of new fans and I would suspect the same with the Otalia clips. They create buzz. I've never understood why CBS doesn't take these storylines (with huge YouTube followings) and break them out on the CBS YouTube channel with commercials.
There are multiple people posting Nuke clips, but LukeVanFan is the most well-known and he has over 14,000 subscribers. Imagine if CBS could get those 14,000 people to watch their own YouTube clips with multiple commercials on each.
I think there are a lot of ways to monetize the soaps but especially when you have couples people are buzzing about not only in the US, but around the world.
I have all the "official" links permanently embedded on my site (on the right) but unfortunately fans outside the US can't watch a lot of those.
"MarkH" what's with the quotation marks? I am not EW sorry to dissapoint you.
ReplyDeleteAnyway I certainly wasn't criticizing Roger.
No blogger has done more for GL than him.
I also know he is very involved with the BPD Otalia Message board and I know they put up their videos of Otalia after the west coast airing because of the fact I mentioned regarding ratings.
That's it no biggie.
Roger,
ReplyDeletePosting videos on the internet is definitely good publicity, that is how I got back into watching GL. I used to watch GL when I lived in the states then I moved abroad where they don't show it and after a couple years I got curious about the show and one particular storyline brought me back, and no it wasn't Otalia.
So I'm all for posting clips all over the internet that is what got me hooked and that is why I am now sending emails signing petitons etc to save the show.
Keep up the good work, I really love your blog and I hope you realize that I wasn't criticizing your work.
Marley, not a problem at all. :) You made a good point. I normally don't have time to post clips until later in the day so I hadn't really thought much about it.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of ratings, I wish I felt that all of us (heck, ANY of us) were counted in the Nielsens. It's obvious Otalia has brought tons of new fans to GL and they aren't being counted. With all the promotion around Phillip's return, I know some lapsed fans tuned back in as well. It may be a statistically sound sampling but I still don't buy it as accurate. With 2009 technology it seems like the cable companies would know who is watching what at any given time.
Marley...just wishful thinking on my part :)
ReplyDeleteWhom do we talk to at CBS to help them see the error of their unembeddable ways?
The recording industry resisted unfettered electronic distribution...and they almost died.
Let's hope TV ... and the soaps ... can not tread down that worn path to ruin.
Re: Sampling.
ReplyDeleteThere is another (albeit selective) sample. TiVo is selling its ratings (independent from Neilsen). These are interesting ratings, because they are not a sample, but a population. Moreover, they can give accurate information on viewing times, commercial watching...much closer to internet tracking.
Now, of course, the TiVo sample ITSELF is selective. But I am convinced that once DVR penetration and bidirection communication with the cable companies becomes more universal, we'll have MUCH more accurate counts.
In addition, I'm hoping the commercial networks take a page from the online streams: Fewer commercials that cannot be skipped. That will solve much of the financial problem, I think.
Interesting stuff happening with Tivo. I wonder how resistent the networks are to this change. They know the current system is flawed, but they're probably afraid of getting exact numbers fearing some shows maybe aren't as popular as it seems.
ReplyDeleteI think we'll continue to see product placement and may more "brought to you by" spots. When FNL aired on DirecTV they aired a one minute vaseline commercial before the show started and again once it ended. FNL uses the local Applebees as a set and it is pure product placement that seems totally normal and not in your face (as opposed to seeing Dr. Pepper signs all over 90210).
MarkH, I wish I was Ellen Wheeler as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Nielsen ratings truly are extremely flawed as you both have explained much better than I ever could.
One other thing from me on this :). You know how, on the internet, videos can be framed in a persistent product placement. So, there can be a permanent banner for Vaseline (ugh...how is that related to FNL??) THAT DOES NOT GO AWAY.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing -- NOTHING -- stopping the networks/cable nets from using that approach with their programming. There might be viewer resistance at first, but (a) the audience is being conditioned to it on the web, and (b) SOMETHING has to pay for the show.
A persistent frame could fade in/fade out, or become transparent...and it would have to work with the directors etc (i.e., they'd have to keep that part of the frame free of critical stuff, so that the banners don't interfere). I mean, shows could still be shot in 4:3 aspect ratio, with the persistent banner ads on the left and right side (assuming everyone can see the full 16:9 aspect).
This is the kind of stuff that must happen.
==
Two other tangential items here.
1. Marley, I think I hoped you were EW (chastising Roger for stealing your TV eyeballs). I hoped, if it was EW, that she'd use a name like "Marley". EW was my HANDS DOWN favorite Marley/Vicky, so it tickled me that she might use that name. Of course, I was wrong.
2. Roger, once your DVD sales with Manhattanites have levelled off, you have GOT to try to sell the movie to Soapnet for one of their Sunday night gigs. If it can be made safe for television...
Manhattanites on Soapnet. I would love that.
ReplyDeleteMark, EW is my favorite actress so obviously my favorite Marley/Vicky.
ReplyDeleteI would love Manhattanites to air on SOAPnet but they seem way more interested in older big budget movies that have been played over and over on cable for years. Not sure why as most have no soap connection.