‘All My Children,’ ‘One Life to Live’ to have premiers on Hulu, iTunes
“One Life to Live” and “All My Children” have now officially extended their reach for where they will premiere, and it includes some viewing options for not just your computer, but also your tablet, iPhone, and every other devise that you could possibly use to watch a soap opera.
In a statement on Friday, the once-canceled ABC shows’ new owner in Prospect Park announced that the two series will air 30-minute installments five days a week beginning at some point this spring, and they will be featured on Hulu, Hulu Plus, and iTunes to go along with their own platform at The Online Network (TOLN), which is set to come on the air in the spring, as well.
The benefits for the production house to use so many different avenues for their products are rather simple: for those who miss out on the opportunity to watch the soaps when they air, viewers can choose to either watch them with commercial breaks inserted on a site like Hulu, or use a paid service that will kick a little bit of money back in their direction. In doing this, Prospect Park is trying to prove that there are all-new ways in which you can monetize a television show these days, which is especially important given that soap operas have struggles in the past few years to pick up ratings in the daytime (which is why these two shows were canceled to begin with).
But will all of this effort pay off? We still think that both “One Life to Live” and “All My Children” have an enormous challenge ahead in trying to lure viewers, especially many of the older ones who still prefer to watch programming on TV, to make the move to a much smaller screen. Not only that, but these are shows that have been off the air for over a year, and many people have likely moved on.
What do you think: do these two shows have a chance, and do you at least think the studio is going about this the right way? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below, and you can read more about the internet revival for both series over at the link here.
Photo: Prospect Park