Alternative Approaches to Keep GL On The Air

GUIDING LIGHT has been on a creative upswing for several months now. Now is not the time to let the show die despite today's official cancellation by CBS. Procter & Gamble should pursue alternative approaches for keeping the alive.

1. Strike a deal with DirecTV: It worked for PASSIONS (for a year) and FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS. DirecTV's The 101 has expressed interest in cancelled network shows that might help draw new fans to their service.

2. Air the show as a web series: An ad supported web series may or may not work, but how about a subscription series? GUIDING LIGHT successfully made the leap from radio to televison and surved another 57 years so if any show can survive in a new medium, it's this one. Also, services like i2TV are bringing web content to television so doing a web series doesn't mean the show won't be available from cable providers.

3. Try pay-per-view/On-demand: I would pay a feel via my cable provider (I actually use Verizon Fios) and I know other fans who would too.

4. Develop a P&G Soaps Cable Channel: There are some tiny cable channels out there that can not possibly cost much to run based on the programming (Blue Highway TV comes to mind). Procter & Gamble has decades of soap footage in their archives. Make it available on a lower tier cable network with new episodes of GUIDING LIGHT to draw viewers.

5. Pursue an existing cable network: WE, Lifetime, Oxygen or other female-friendly cable networks might be interested in airing the show for the right price. One benefit of any cable network is they can re-air the show multiple times a day.

These approaches may require downsizing and most likely would. But FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS downsized and thrived this season so it doesn't have to impact the overall quality of the show.

The web series option might work with a subset of the existing show. Like an "Otalia" spin-off.

I do not have any inside knowledge of how interested Procter & Gamble would be in keeping the show alive in some capacity, but if you are, I would suggest writing to them and letting them know. I am very saddened to be thinking about this, but I will hope for an alternative method of survival for GUIDING LIGHT until P&G says it is not happening.

UPDATED:
Telenext executive Brian T. Cahill made the following statement in a press release today:

“We are honored to have been welcomed into the homes of multiple generations of GUIDING LIGHT viewers,” said Brian T. Cahill, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, TeleNext Media, Inc. “We are working hard to find the show a new home, and we are exploring all our options to continue to bring loyal fans the characters and stories they love.”

TeleNext Director of Communications Jeannie Tharrington also said the company would seek to place GUIDING LIGHT elsewhere.

“We’re looking at all our options,” she said. “This show started as a 15-minute radio show, and then it was a half-hour television show, so it has adapted over the years.”