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Soap Classics losing rights to Guiding Light and As The World Turns (1 Viewer)

Statskeeper

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Maureen
I just got the e-mail. The rights are ending soon and when current sets are sold they will be out of print. They are having a special offer for all the ATWT sets - $59.95 for all of them. I only wished they got around to a GL Roger Thorpe or Alan Spaulding set.
Added: I just bought the GL Jennifer Richards trial set through Amazon. The price is the same but the shipping is less.
 

Tory

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Didn't notice your thread, this is saddening. I guess this means they are getting out of the racket unless maybe they are shifting focus to Another World and Edge of the Night but I doubt it.
 

Escapay

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Most of the "Guiding Light" sets are now out of stock, the only ones left are "The Philip Spaulding Collection" and "The Trial of Jennifer Richards," neither of which I'm interested enough to buy. Even though I loved "Guiding Light," the only two sets that really interested me were "Classic Episodes" and "The Bauer Family Story," making me wish I ordered them before they went out of stock.
Fortunately, most of the "As the World Turns" sets are available (only "CarJack" and "Farewell to Oakdale" are out of stock individually, the former is still in the Value Pack, the latter in the Gift Collection).
I'm picking up the Gift Collection ("Classic Episodes," "Christmas in Oakdale," "The Wedding of Bob & Kim," and "Farewell to Oakdale") and "The Lily & Holden Story" (they're my favorite couple in all of daytime).
 
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I am so disappointed. I haven't had the opportunity to splurge much on DVD's this year, and was just going to finally start saving to get more now seeing as how I was so impressed with the ATWT sets that I bought. I haven't had the chance to get the Guiding Light sets yet. And I definitely don't see this being a good sign for Edge of Night, Another World, and Search for Tomorrow. :(
 

Tory

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I emailed them and asked if they lost Another World and Edge of the Night, they said:
Yes, I'm sorry to say we won't be releasing those titles. Many thanks for your loyalty and support!
 

Escapay

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Escapay said:
Most of the "Guiding Light" sets are now out of stock, the only ones left are "The Philip Spaulding Collection" and "The Trial of Jennifer Richards,"
I just checked the store again today. Only "The Trial of Jennifer Richards" is still in stock, understandable since it's the most recent set.
Most of the ATWT sets are still available, although the "Value Pack" has now joined "Carly & Jack" and "Farewell to Oakdale" in the out of stock listing.
 

David Rain

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The details about how Soap Classics is handling the P&G archive is a bit confusing. From what I understand they only had the DVD rights for GL & ATWT which is why those are the only sets that were released. I'm guessing they felt that the other series were less likely to sell because of their age.
As far as I know they are still planning to stream episodes, perhaps as part of a paid subscription site. Earlier this year they began streaming some of the later-year eps of ATWT. The statement was that they were hoping to have eps of GL streaming by the end of this year. At the time, they had not begun work on AW, SFT, EON or Texas. They were very clear about how huge the archive is (10's of THOUSANDS of eps) and that it will take a long time to digitize everything and make it available through modern media formats.
You can refer to a helpful article/interview here:
http://www.welovesoaps.net/2011/10/soapclassicscom.html
Hopefully they will update fans on what their next move will be.
 

Tory

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I have zero interest in paying for a stream, I'd pay for DVDs of Another World. I have made that fact known to them.
 

chrisjf

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oh great, thats another blow for soap fans. I was really looking forward to Another World coming out. Wonder why they couldnt extend the rights so many more episodes that could have been released, maybe not profitable enough thats the usual reason.
Well guess thats the last we'll see of our beloved soaps on dvd.
 

Escapay

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Checked their website today to see what sets were still available, and to contemplate if I should make any last-minute orders as gifts for friends. Was saddened to find this simple message has replaced the entire site:
SoapClassics
Welcome to SoapClassics, where we love classic soaps as much as you do. We are sorry to report that our license to represent episodes of "As the World Turns" and" Guiding Light" has expired, and that these series are no longer be available from us. However, we are working on licensing other series and titles, so please stay tuned to this site. We want to thank all of our loyal customers for your enthusiastic support, and wish you the very happiest of holiday seasons." For inquiries regarding previously placed order please email [email protected]
Fortunately, one of my orders arrived. I'm now waiting patiently for the other. Hopefully it'll come before Thanksgiving so I can have a marathon weekend...
 

chrisjf

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Glad i made an order on Sunday and received dispatch confirmation otherwise i would have been really hacked off. I hope there's going to be more realeases but going by Tory's previous post that Another World and Edge of Night wont get a release doesnt leave much choice unless they get the rights to shows other than Proctor & Gambles.
 

Tory

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Could they get Days? Y&R? OLTL? AMC? GH? Passions? Generations? I'd be into classic Days from the 80s, we need some Eugene and Calliope on DVD.
 

David Rain

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It's not realistic to think that soaps could ever be properly represented on DVD. The format is simply too limiting to feature series that aired daily for years. The best they could do is release them based on theme, character or storyline. I'm guessing they are stopping the DVD releases because they simply are not selling well enough. Otherwise they would have attempted to renew the license.
I think streaming is the only way to properly show cancelled soaps since cable and satellite channels seem uninterested. This way eps can be posted in order and can be watched in a way that mimics when fans could tune in every day and see the next part of the storyline. I think a lot of hardcore soap fans would gladly pay a few dollars a month to see their favorite old soaps again, especially in such a convenient way.
To the people who will inevitably say "Soaps used to be free to watch. I ain't paying for them." then I say to you that it will be your loss. There will be few if any other ways to see these classic shows again with the exception of some random eps on DVD. Everyone also needs to remember the effort and expense that goes into organizing and upgrading a 35 year-long archive of old, outdated videotapes. Someone has to do all of that work and pay for those expenses. So if a streaming site needs to charge for access in order to pay their costs then that's a great idea and may turn out to be heaven on earth for soap fans.
SoapClassics is the same company that did the digitizing of some P&G soaps for the old AOL Soap Channel a few years back. They have licensed the rights to the 6 existing P&G soaps including ATWT, GL, AW, EON, SFT & Texas. Despite losing (or giving up) the DVD rights, supposedly they will still be handling the P&G archive and streaming it at some point. Nothing has been said the the contrary. I'm guessing the current SoapClassics site will be turned from a shopping site into a streaming site. There was another long-running soap called Love Of Life that aired on CBS until 1980. However, it was owned by American Home Products and not P&G. I'm not sure if tapes of it even still exist.
As far as them possibly acquiring other soaps from different networks and companies, I suppose it's possible. It would likely only happen if their current projects prove to be successful. A Network like ABC could easily take their own shows, release eps on DVD and/or steam them on their own site. ABC has an archive that would include at least seven soaps: AMC, OLTL, GH, Ryan's Hope, Loving, The City & Port Charles. The size of their archive could easily rival P&G's. I don't think you'll see too much happening with other shows until the industry sees how well SoapClassics does.
UPDATE: The SoapClassics site is currently closed. The message simply says they've lost their licensing for GL & ATWT. Still No Word on Whether That Has Anything to Do with the rest of the P&G Archive or if it will affect future streaming. Unfortunately their ATWT site is down completely. Not a good sign.
 

Statskeeper

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I just got this e-mail from Soap Classics:
We'd like to wish a happy Thanksgiving to all of our loyal customers who supported us during this past year. We loved bringing you classic episodes from ATWT and Guiding Light; and we loved how much you appreciated them.
We hope to be able to share some exciting news with you in the near future. Until then, please accept our best wishes for a great holiday season!
Sincerely,
Your Friends at SoapClassics
So are they pulling us along or do they have something? I hope the fans of other soaps get their wish - I got lucky that GL and ATWT were my two favorites.
 

David Rain

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I think the "exciting news" can really only be one of two things. Either they are releasing DVD's of other P&G shows (such as AW, EON, etc.) or they are finally going to start streaming eps.
Something is definitely going on because on their Twitter page they are replying to questions by saying they can't release any news yet.
 

chrisjf

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Just received the Lily & Holden story and Farewell to Oakdale which is great but but does anyone know why the music has been changed in the final episode? The final scene with bob and kim has different music to what ive seen uploaded on youtube and it doesnt really pack the same punch when the globe starts spinning for the last time. I've only watced this one of farewell so far and the picture is also extremely jumpy not sure if anyne else with this set has the same problem?
 

David Rain

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Didn't realize there had been any music replacement but it's not uncommon. In some cases it's simply too expensive to get the rights to the same music again.
 

Escapay

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chrisjf said:
Just received the Lily & Holden story and Farewell to Oakdale which is great but but does anyone know why the music has been changed in the final episode? The final scene with bob and kim has different music to what ive seen uploaded on youtube and it doesnt really pack the same punch when the globe starts spinning for the last time. I've only watced this one of farewell so far and the picture is also extremely jumpy not sure if anyne else with this set has the same problem?
I had actually written to SoapClassics about the music when "Farewell to Oakdale" was first released, and this is what they sent back:
Hi Albert,
Thanks for your support of soapclassics.com .
The music situation is different from episode to episode, whenever possible
we use the music as originally broadcast but in some cases it has been
replaced with new music for international and online use. This is due to the
very complicated copyright laws.
We will always continue to try and use the original broadcast music.
Regards,
emily
soapclassics.com
The original CBS broadcast uses instrumental scores from The Prince of Tides (pretty much half the episode), Enchanted (I immediately recognized it during the first Katie/Chris scene), and "Last Dance" by Donna Summer (Henry and Barbara's memorable final moments). All the music in the episode was changed for online viewing, which seems to be what CBS sent to SoapClassics for the DVD. That may also explain the jumpy quality. I wish they could have used the original music, and I definitely agree that the replacement music doesn't pack the same punch.
Ironically, the final minutes of the Christmas 2009 episode (in "20 Classic Episodes") features an instrumental version of "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins. Since Disney don't come cheap, I'm assuming that's the original broadcast music. I'm surprised they were able to use that, but had to replace Enchanted's score in the finale. Then again, they probably had no other option, since all the music is replaced in the finale.
 

chrisjf

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Thanks for that, appreciate the info. Just found it on the Prince of Tides soundtrack, great score.
Its a shame but makes perfect sense, now knowing its from a movie soundtrack, same thing has happened with so many tv shows when released to dvd.
 

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