Two soap magazines are expected to lose half their staff following the cancellations of ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE, according to a new report in The New York Post.The cast and crew of ONE LIFE TO LIVE and ALL MY CHILDREN aren't the only ones losing their jobs when the shows go off the air.
Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly are expected to drastically trim their staffs, the New York Post's Keith Kelly reports. As many as half of the 70 employees in the New York office will be laid off.
Publisher Source Interlink is turning the magazines' operations over to National Enquirer and American Media Inc. in a licensing deal.
Entrepreneur Jerry Ritterman bought Soap Opera Digest from News Corp. for $70 million in the 1980s.
After changing hands several more times, it was included in a $1.2 billion sale of Primedia enthusiast titles to Source Interlink.
In the 1980s, Soap Opera Digest was published every other week and had a circulation of 1.2 million. Now, it has a readership of 500,000. Soap Opera Weekly pulls in 150,000 readers.
Kelly says AMI is preparing reality TV show special issues on the Kardashians and Bravo's HOUSEWIVES franchise to take the soap magazines' place in checkout counters.
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Honestly, I'm wondering why they haven't combined and/or why one of them hasn't folded.
ReplyDeleteBoth are unique and both have their strengths, but there simply isn't enough going to sustain two.
I would say keep the staff and begin covering some of these Reality Shows...that have taken such a bite out of the daytime audience...ie Bachelor/the Real Wives, Project Runway! Good Luck 2 All!!
ReplyDeleteOf course, I JUST renewed my subscription to Weekly and ABC Soaps In Depth this past Sunday. Wonder if I can get a refund? TRULY a sad day. :(
ReplyDeleteYour circulation figures are backwards. According to the NY Post SOD circulation is 500,000 and SOW is 150,000.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/drama_for_magazines_after_soap_opera_ymiCLz1DyWK9wAeWxfqHgI