Prospect Park has finally given up on its plans to continue canceled ABC soap One Life to Live online. Earlier this month, the company decided to suspend its plans for All My Children and focus on bringing One Life to Live to the internet. Unfortunately, the lack of funding has forced the abandonment of that plan as well.
Since the initial announcement of Prospect Park’s intention to put both All My Children and One Life to Live online, fans have been both hopeful and apprehensive. All My Children fans were disappointed to learn that their show would not continue online as originally stated; now they won’t be able to see what happened after September’s cliffhanger finale. As of today, fans of One Life to Live are learning that their show won’t continue either. In a November 23 press release, Prospect Park thanked everyone who had been supporting their efforts but cited continued problems acquiring the necessary funding to follow through with the new venture.
After the One Life to Live finale airs on January 13, 2012, General Hospital will be the only daytime soap remaining on ABC, although its days are said to be numbered as well; its spinoff, Port Charles, has been off the air since October 2003. Days of Our Lives is NBC’s sole survivor; its most recent canceled soap was Passions, which last aired in September 2007. In addition, CBS still airs The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, although Guiding Light and As the World Turns aired as recently as September 2009 and September 2010, respectively.
With so few soaps left on broadcast television, what will fans do? Many will probably watch the remaining daytime soaps to show support for the genre; others will either watch a different type of show or turn off the television, possibly switching to the computer to watch online soaps such as River Ridge or The Bay. It’s highly unlikely that they’ll choose to watch the shows that have replaced their beloved soaps.