Brian Frons on GUIDING LIGHT's Cancellation

In a story published Friday, The Wall Street Journal asked Brian Frons, president of daytime for Disney-ABC television group, about the cancellation of GUIDING LIGHT. His answers indicate a very nonchalant attitude about the situation.

WSJ: Is there much industry nostalgia for the legacy of GUIDING LIGHT?

It was actually my first creative executive job, from 1979 to 1983. That was a great time for soaps. This was when the Rider case was in the news, one of the first times a woman sued her husband for rape, and we introduced a story to touch upon that. Television is a today business. From an ad sales perspective, GUIDING LIGHT hasn’t won the 18-49 women since 1991.

So it’s not a big deal that GUIDING LIGHT is ending?

We’ve gotten used to soaps lasting so many years, the death of one takes on all this drama. But GUIDING LIGHT has been a poor performer for many many years.

What about personally for you? It’s kind of like your old high school being demolished, no?

No. It’s taking a patient off life support, not a sudden tragic death in the family or anything. I was sadder when I heard about production changes, lots of technical behind-the-scenes stuff that starts to affect talent and quality.

Read the entire interview here.
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