Soap operas are known for their plot twists, so it’s only fitting that All My Children and One Life to Live won’t die in September after all. Disney/ABC announced today that it had licensed the long-running and iconic properties to media group Prospect Park, a deal that will see the soaps get a new lease on life thanks to emerging platforms.
Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, the programs will continue to be delivered in the same quality, format and length as they were when they were on broadcast television, as was first confirmed by the New York Post. Prospect Park also will produce new episodes that pick up where their broadcast counterparts left them, and will deliver all of this content online, via Internet-enabled television sets, and using other unspecified methods. The show’s casts and crew will remain as well.
This is the first example of well-known programs migrating from broadcast to digital while staying intact.
Prospect Park was founded in 2008 by Jeffrey Kwatinetz, formerly CEO of management company The Firm, and Rich Frank, previously chairman of Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications. The company is currently enjoying success with television programs Royal Pains and Wilfred.
“We are privileged to continue the legacy of two of the greatest programs to air on daytime television, and are committed to delivering the storylines, characters and quality that audiences have come to love for over 40 years,” Frank and Kwatinetz said in a statement. “Now that there are so many devices available in addition to television sets, viewers are taking advantage of watching shows wherever they are and on any number of devices. We believe that by continuing to produce the shows in their current hour format and with the same quality, viewers will follow the show to our new, online network.”
One Life to Live began in 1968, and All My Children debuted two years later. Their creator Agnes Nixon issued a statement that said she was happy and excited about Prospect Park’s plans.
This is not the first time soap operas embraced the online world. In 2000, Sony Pictures Digital Media and publishing company Primedia launched a community, subscription and pay-per-view site called SoapCity.com, which was anchored by Sony’s Columbia Television programs Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless. That initiative proved to be ahead of its time.
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New York Post: http://tinyurl.com/6dbp8b7
