A good discussion question...

[aaron sica]

GSN's going to repurpose "The Next Action Star" 8 days after NBC airs it...

Reading that led me to think of a question. Had the entire reality genre NOT taken off, would the network still have underwent the change to just GSN? If it STILL would have shed "Game Show Network", what would GSN have focused on?

[Jimmy Owen]

I think they would have made a greater push for interactivity with home viewers with their games.  More shows like "Trivia Track" or "Throut and Neck" but technically sophisticated.  I also incorrectly predicted repurposing of Sony-owned soaps at night to bring in the young female demos to what I would have called "The Game and Soap Network" (GSN).  Since Sony's DOOL went to ABC's SoapNet, that will not happen-at least not for a while.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 14 2004, 03:08 PM\']I think they would have made a greater push for interactivity with home viewers with their games.  More shows like "Trivia Track" or "Throut and Neck" but technically sophisticated.  I also incorrectly predicted repurposing of Sony-owned soaps at night to bring in the young female demos to what I would have called "The Game and Soap Network" (GSN).  Since Sony's DOOL went to ABC's SoapNet, that will not happen-at least not for a while.[/quote]
And Sony's proposed attempt at a soap channel, SoapCity, went south when SoapNet got on the air before Sony could even announce a launch date.  I believe they were having problems getting NBC and CBS to agree to prime time repurpose of "Days" and "Y&R," which would've been crucial to getting on the air.  They had licensed the Procter & Gamble back library the same way they licensed the G-T back library for GSN, but was only able to use it for clips on the SoapCity web site (which may be still in business)--obviously, with SoapNet airing "AW," that agreement has ended.

[CaseyAbell]

I think they would have made a greater push for interactivity with home viewers with their games.

They're pushing hard on interactivity, anyway. The latest try is the one-screen trial in Hawaii, which is really the only way interactivity will take off. The need for a computer and a teevee at the same time naturally limits the appeal of current interactive setups.

Besides, the move by GSN into "reality" has been almost as exaggerated as the rumors of my death. Today only four hours could be considered "reality": Star Search, Dodgeball, and KvS (plus their reruns). And really none of these fit the standard idea of reality TV except maybe KvS in a stretch. Star Search is a talent contest and Dodgeball looks like a hybrid of game show and sport. Oh, maybe Who Dares Wins might get kinda close. But that's just a stunt game show, BtC in the great outdoors.

[rigsby]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 14 2004, 03:08 PM\'] More shows like "Trivia Track" or "Throut and Neck" but technically sophisticated. [/quote]
 Somehow I doubt any show like Trivia Track or Throut and Neck could be considered sophisticated, technically, or not.  (especially Throut and Neck)

[sshuffield70]

Well, and I've seen the "Trivia Track" blooper.  And it looks no different than the bow-tied idiot doing the weather.

[Ian Wallis]

They had licensed the Procter & Gamble back library the same way they licensed the G-T back library for GSN, but was only able to use it for clips on the SoapCity web site (which may be still in business)--obviously, with SoapNet airing "AW," that agreement has ended.

An interesting question would be how much of the Procter & Gamble library is intact?  In other words, were networks better at saving soap operas of the '60s and '70s than they were game shows - or are most soaps from that period gone too?

[Jimmy Owen]

[quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jun 21 2004, 09:28 AM\']


An interesting question would be how much of the Procter & Gamble library is intact?  In other words, were networks better at saving soap operas of the '60s and '70s than they were game shows - or are most soaps from that period gone too? [/quote]
I'm led to believe P&G has kept what they own.  They did reair old "Edge of Night" and "Search For Tomorrow" eps on USA after the network runs, and of course AW is being rerun now on SoapNet, I don't think there is a lot of demand to see the old shows, in their entirety, though.  I think SoapNet is doing it the right way with most of the time devoted to day and date repurposing of current soaps. As far as the supposed mass erasures of games by the nets, I am willing to cut them some slack, in my view it was the producer's responsibility to retrieve the tapes as soon as they were aired.  It really wasn't the network's job to maintain a library of tapes for which they didn't have any need or use.

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jun 21 2004, 10:57 AM\'][quote name=\'Ian Wallis\' date=\'Jun 21 2004, 09:28 AM\']


An interesting question would be how much of the Procter & Gamble library is intact?  In other words, were networks better at saving soap operas of the '60s and '70s than they were game shows - or are most soaps from that period gone too? [/quote]
I'm led to believe P&G has kept what they own.  They did reair old "Edge of Night" and "Search For Tomorrow" eps on USA after the network runs, and of course AW is being rerun now on SoapNet, I don't think there is a lot of demand to see the old shows, in their entirety, though. [/quote]
And I wouldn't be surprised if P&G kept the kinnies and tapes near HQ in Cincinnati, rather than on the East Coast where space is at more of a premium.

And I just saw today that SoapCity is still in operation as a web site and doing streaming by subscription of "Days" and "Y&R" episodes.