ABC Might Be Taking the Ax To Some Of Your Favorite Daytime Soaps

ABC taking an Ax to some of your favorite Daytime Shows? Remember all those talk shows ABC started developing last year? In the coming weeks, ABC will be deciding if one or more of these projects will land on the daytime lineup come fall of 2011. So what does that mean for the three soaps that are in the daytime line up?

“They have to make a decision by the end of the First Quarter of 2011 in order to get one or more of the shows on the air by fall,” says a source. “Affiliates are getting antsy with Oprah leaving the airwaves with no clear cut successor. The decisions ABC will be making will have ripple effects throughout the ABC Daytime lineup and yes, the soaps will be affected."

“It’s no secret the soaps aren’t as profitable as they once were,” says one industry insider, “and two of the ABC soaps have been over budget in recent years.”

In the fall of 2009, ABC Daytime decided to uproot All My Children and move them to Los Angeles in a cost-cutting effort, however sources tell me long running show, (41 Years) has continued to run over budget since relocating in January of 2010.

General Hospital, which premiered in 1963, reportedly saw its budget slashed significantly recently, resulting in the firing of actress Rebecca Herbst, a move that has since been rescinded. However, sources say more cast cuts are forth coming. “General Hospital isn’t in any immediate danger,” says a insider. “It has the strongest brand by far.”

Upon hearing the reports, a rep from the Daytime Division of the network insisted to sources that there was "nothing to comment on" and that these reports are based on old news added with new speculation.

So, the long and short of it seems to be that your stories are safe…for now.