| ABC Daytime | |
| Industry: | Television broadcast |
| Hq Location City: | New York City, New York |
| Hq Location Country: | United States |
| Key People: | Rebecca Campbell (president) |
| Parent: | ABC Entertainment Group |
ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime television programming block on the ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.
ABC Daytime is the daytime programming division of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) television network, which has been in operation since 1948. ABC Daytime originally began as a block of programming featuring game shows and soap operas, and it quickly became a popular destination for viewers during the daytime hours.
Brian Frons became president of ABC Daytime in 2002.[1]
In May 2006, ABC Daytime was enlarged with the addition of Soapnet and ABC Media Productions.[4] ABC Daytime was criticized by Susan Lucci for putting profits above their legacy for the 2011 cancellations of All My Children and One Life to Live in favor of lower-cost talk programming such as The Chew.[1] ABC Daytime was folded into ABC Entertainment in 2011.[5]
Times Square Studios (TSS) was created on December 2, 2011, under Vicki Dummer to oversee operations of ABC Daytime and the syndication programs[1] replacing separate daytime and syndicated units. Times Square took over ABC Daytime when Frons' employment contract ended in January 2012.[6] Except for Live with Kelly and Ryan, Times Square took over their remaining soap, all ABC syndicated and lifestyle shows.[7] On October 30, 2014, The View talk show was transferred into Lincoln Square Productions, an ABC News subsidiary, from ABC Entertainment after struggling in ratings and a change in hosts.[5]
One of the earliest and most popular shows in the ABC Daytime lineup was the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire which debuted in 1999 and quickly became a cultural phenomenon. The show's popularity helped to revitalize ABC's daytime programming and drew in a large audience of viewers.
Another popular show in the ABC Daytime lineup was the soap opera All My Children which aired from 1970 to 2011. The show was known for its dramatic storylines, complex characters, and talented cast of actors. All My Children helped to establish ABC as a leader in daytime programming, and it won numerous awards and accolades over the years.
In addition to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and All My Children, ABC Daytime has featured a number of other popular shows over the years, including General Hospital, The View and One Life to Live. These shows have helped to establish ABC as a leader in daytime programming, and they have attracted a large and dedicated audience of viewers.
Times Square Studios reverted to the ABC Daytime name by the time of the appointment of ABC Owned Television Station President Rebecca Campbell as president of ABC Daytime, which still contains syndication, as an additional position.[8]
ABC Daytime has not had a regular daytime game show block since 1986, and has not had any daytime game shows since a revival of Match Game ended in 1991.
One game show aired in syndication on the network's owned-and-operated stations:
Gail Starkey;[11] Beth Wicke;[12] Sue Johnson;[13] Barbara Bloom (Vice President of Daytime Programming: 1996–2000); Mary Burch (Director of Daytime Programming)
| Name | Title | Years | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armand Grant | President of Daytime Programming | 1960–1965 | ||
| Harve Bennett | President of Daytime Programming | 1965–1967 | ||
| President of Daytime Programming | 1967–1968 | |||
| Marshall H. Karp | Vice President of Daytime Programming | 1969–1971 | ||
| Vice President of Daytime Programming | 1971–1977 | |||
| Jackie Smith | Vice President of Daytime Programming | 1977–1988 | ||
| Jo Ann Emmerich | Vice President of Daytime Programming | 1988–1993 | ||
| Patricia Fili-Krushel | President of Daytime Programming | 1993–1998 | Served until she resigned to join an internet company.[14] [15] [16] During her tenure, the network published the 1995 New York Times bestseller General Hospital tie-in novel Robin Scorpio[17] and debuted the General Hospital spin-off Port Charles. | |
| Felicia Minei Behr | Vice President of Daytime Programming | 1999–2002 | ||
| Angela Shapiro | President of Daytime Programming | 1998–2002 | The co-founder of Soap Opera Digest who had been ABC's Senior Vice President of Marketing and Promotion since 1995.[18] Assumed the position of President in 2000.[19] Called "a champion of the soap fans", Shapiro is credited with adapting the prime time series practice of "refreshers" and "previews" — recapitulation the previous episode immediately before showing the current one and previewing the next episode at the end – and applying the concept to daytime serials. The idea is still in use today, and other networks have adopted it. Shapiro also utilized the established interconnection of ABC's three soap operas (General Hospital, One Life to Live, and All My Children) in a bolder synergy concept designed to "entice viewers to tune into soap operas that they might not have usually watched." Over the course of six months in 2000, Daytime Emmy Award-winner Linda Dano's character Rae Cummings crossover among all four ABC daytime series.[20] Shapiro also created ABC Super Soap Weekend, a fan event held at Walt Disney World in Florida from 1996 (the year The Walt Disney Company bought ABC) to 2008. She left ABC Daytime in 2002 to head the ABC Family channel. | |
| President of Daytime Programming | 8/2002–2011 | Joined in August 2002. In May 2006 Frons was promoted to President of Daytime for the newly created Walt Disney Television, an entity overseeing all ABC and Disney networks and Soapnet.[21] Cancelled All My Children and One Life to Live and replaced them with The Chew and The Revolution. In December 2011, Frons announced that he was resigning as president after nine years with the network.[22] | ||
| Vicki Dummer | Vice-President of Times Square Studios | 2011–2020 | Joined ABC in 1996. Cancelled lifestyle talk show The Revolution after less than 3 months on the air. Oversees duties of unscripted shows were transferred in 2013 to colleague Lisa Hackner, while General Hospital remains under Dummer's management.[23] Dummer was let go along with Senior Vice President of ABC Daytime, William Burton, in December 2020. No replacement was announced.[24] |