Brian Frons, the head of ABC daytime, is leaving the network. During his tenure, he played a key role in cancelling both All My Children and One Life to Live, ABC’s venerable soap operas.
Frons has been with the network as the head of daytime since 2002 and his contract ends in January. ABC has decided to merge its daytime and syndicated units into one division. Vicki Dummer, who oversees current series and specials for the network, will head the new Time Square Studio.
Of his leaving the network, Frons said that he’s pleased with what ABC daytime was able to accomplish under his tenure, including the launch of The Chew and the development of The Revolution, the two programs that are replacing the soaps.
The Chew is reportedly averaging half a million fewer viewers than All My Children but is cheaper to produce. The Revolution debuts January 16th, three days after One Life to Live signs off — on Friday the 13th.
Frons defended his decision to replace the soaps to EW and said, “People are really interested in multiple points of view, multiple voices. Daytime viewers are also saying that if they are going to give us an hour a day, we need to give them something that is going to improve their lives… All of daytime is learning to survive on smaller audience shares because there are so many choices. You can’t spend more money for less audience. That’s why you see people going toward programming forms that cost less to produce.”
What do you think? Is Frons correct about today’s audiences and economics? Could they have done something to save the soaps? Possibly cut the casts down to half a dozen performers?
Brians Frons has ruined ABC.
Brian Frons is wrong, so terribly wrong. After OLTL is gone, I will boycott ABC forever.
ABC does not care about the viewer only the bottom line. I will not ever watch the Chew or the Revolution.
Please join this group.
Good Riddens! He started his position by cancelling soaps. It was his goal. He started that when he cancelled Port Charles, and then it was a mission for him not to mention his constant interference on GH regarding the Liz/Jason storyline. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out you idiot!
He may be proud, but his decesion ruined his carrear. It also made him the most hated man in America. I will never watch anything else on ABC again. I will never be back. I hope BF never works again after this. A network would have to be crazy to hire him.
Hate Brian Frons. He tore all of our worlds apart. And he is glad he did it. Yep, I hate Brian Frons.
I agree we want the drama & escapism of soaps some suspense of whaats going to happen next with these characters we have followed for years if I wanted a food show I will watch food network not Cooking for Dummies known as the Chew & Revolution looks even worse I could understand cutting cast down some but doing away with the show completely has lost ABC millions of viewers and I think they will see that soon I have left tv on Abc after news while chew was on waiting for OLTL but no more I think that’s where… Read more »
brian frons is an *******
Ya think?
People want stories, not talk shows. If Frons wants to talk about those, then he’ll be sad when he sees the two shows go buh-bye and hopefully put our soaps back on.
I don’t want to watch another show to help me improve my life. There is enough show’s like that all ready. People want to watch All My Children and One Life to Live. They were a good way to escape the world. A way to get involved with the characters. Soaps are like short day to day movies. And movies help you relax and forget about what kind of trouble the world is in. Who wants to watch a show about food. How many way’s can you talk about napkins. And who cares how fast you can cook something. And… Read more »
This guy Frons is full of it. I am glad they are getting rid of him. The could have combined both the soaps. Made one soap with a huge cast of both the soaps. Mark my word, All My Children and One Life to Live will continue. Somehow and some way. Some other tv channel or internet company. Brian Frons and Prospect Park should team up. They would be a match made in heaven for a soap marriage.
I watched OLTL back when Roger played Todd. I came back to it when he came back. Not sure about half of the cast but I love Todd. I use to watch Michael on Port Charles so I knew of him. Very sad that the show is going. If they touch General Hospital which I have been watching for 35 years I will then no longer watch any program on ABC which won’t be hard to do after Desperate Housewives goes off the air.
The ABC soaps were cancelled because of greed. If they were cancelled because women, the target audience, are all working now, who’s going to watch the two shows replacing them? Where’s the audience for daytime programming at all, if that’s the case. Sure, it’s cheaper to produce the crap ABC put on in place of the soaps, with their mini-casts and no need for real writers, but I can watch seriously similar shows on numerous basic cable channels. I feel betrayed that the only two shows, aside from”Live with Regis & Kelly,” that I watch before the 5:00 p.m. news… Read more »
Money could have been saved by NOT moving the show across country from one coast to the other (FIRST BIG MISTAKE) only a year before. Money could have been saved by having the actors/actresses USE THEIR OWN wardrobe instead of those brought in by designers. We would have much rather seen how their taste lined up with the character anyway! These are the two that stick out the MOST to me. As for ABC…I haven’t watched anything since Sept. 23rd. And with the intention of PP taking on the show, the ending was left “open” and without closure. Now that… Read more »
Fron is not being true to the viewers the numbers don’t lie OLTL is an extremely popular show. I for one will no longer be watching ABC period, that is my executive decision! I am a high volume shopper, big mistake Mr Fron. Reality TV really?!?!?! Seriously! What is Reality TV? Is it reality, generally no. What it is in reality, is a way for some big shot (like Fron) to get their bottom line $$$$ without any effort & almost no bank. These shows are generally insulting to our intellect & have no real value. If we believe our… Read more »
We hate Brian Frons AND his replacements, who are also big proponents of “unscripted” material. Like many OLTL fans, I will never watch ANYTHING on ABC Daytime after my soap opera has ended. Yes, if reducing the size of the cast would’ve saved the soaps, that would’ve been great; on the other hand, Ms Slezak’s salary probably equals the sum of everyone else’s salary, and one couldn’t continue OLTL without her, so I don’t know if a cast slimming would’ve improved the economics very much.