Supposedly, executive producers Couric and Jeff Zucker are concerned about their show following The Revolution, the self-help series that replaced One Life to Live and quickly became a ratings disappointment. They want General Hospital to get Revolution’s timeslot so they have the soap as their lead-in. Word is they also don’t want to incur the backlash of angry soap fans and be blamed for the cancellation of the last ABC soap.
Per the most recent ratings, General Hospital has the smallest number of total viewers of all four remaining soaps. Compared to last year, GH is down 343,000 viewers and averaged about 2.3 million. The Revolution’s been attracting about 1.6 million, well below what One Life to Live did a year earlier.
Here’s the press release regarding the premiere of Katie:
“KATIE” TO PREMIERE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2012
Executive Producer Jeff Zucker Announces Key Updates, Hires for Katie Couric’s Upcoming Syndicated Daytime Show
Executive Producer Jeff Zucker today announced key production updates for Katie Couric’s highly anticipated nationally syndicated talk show, “Katie.” The live, weekday show has already been cleared in 94% of the country, and will premiere on Monday, September 10, 2012. The show is distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television.
In an internal webcast to television stations that will air “Katie,” Zucker unveiled the show’s logo, and announced additions to the senior production staff including Director Joe Terry, who has spent the last 14 years as Director for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” and Co-Executive Producer Kathy Samuels. Samuels is a producer with nearly 20 years of television experience, including live television and daytime talk show programming at NBC, Paramount Domestic, and CBS, and has been a part of several successful launch teams, including “Rachael Ray” and “Access Hollywood.” Zucker will serve as the day-to-day showrunner.
The webcast was conducted from TV One at ABC’s Manhattan headquarters, which will serve as home to the “Katie” set. The studio itself has a rich history, having served as the backdrop to the Kennedy/Nixon Presidential debates, and has housed broadcast programming including “Good Morning America” and election night coverage. “Katie” will broadcast live, weekdays in front of a studio audience.
“Katie and I are thrilled to share these updates with our partners and Katie’s fans,” said Zucker. “We now have our studio, a great-looking logo that exudes all of the qualities that we want the show to convey, and a terrific team with a diverse background of experience. We couldn’t be more excited about September 10. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Katie Couric is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author and popular TV personality. In addition to hosting the new nationally syndicated program “Katie,” Couric is also a member of the ABC News team. “Katie” will be executive produced by Katie Couric and Jeff Zucker and is distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television.
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What do you think? Will Katie help save or sink General Hospital? Will ABC’s decision influence whether you’ll watch the new show or not?
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