Watching The Bold and the Beautiful from the beginning!

[Daniel Avery]

Calling a show a "hit series" is often baked into their publicity, regardless of whether it is actually a success. If you're paying for the ads, you can write whatever you want in them. A good ad executive can turn almost any bit of ratings data into something positive. They can call a show an "International Hit" even if it's just a middle-of-the-road success with very little objection in both countries because most of us have no idea what's popular in countries we don't live in.

There are other measures of success than just ratings points, like good old-fashioned word-of-mouth. I recall everyone talking about shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, Arrow, and others on the WB and the CW....while the shows languished in the middle to bottom of the traditional ratings. None were ever ratings champs but they had a solid, loud fan base who made the average (non-) viewer think the show was much more of a hit than it really was. You never know when a certain show might develop a fanbase that takes on a life of its own (think: Trekkies), and perhaps the docu is more about the fanbase than about the show it developed around. The American daytime soap Loving was also said to have been phenomenally popular in Italy, while it spent most of its American run as the lowest-rated soap on its network. So the Loving producers could have slept easier saying "We're an international hit!"

The stuff about people grasping onto "glamorous escapism" was also said about the international fans of Dallas and even Baywatch at that time, so you're correct that they're trying a little too hard to sound profound.

 

[Monzo]

The American daytime soap Loving was also said to have been phenomenally popular in Italy, while it spent most of its American run as the lowest-rated soap on its network. So the Loving producers could have slept easier saying "We're an international hit!"

About Loving in Italy: It was called "Quando si ama (When You Love)" and it was a hit - until The Bold and the Beautiful came along. Loving aired in double episodes at 1:45 PM starting in September 1986. After a few years, the problem arose that Italy was too close to the original US airing, so a summer break was implemented in 1990. The Loving timeslot was taken over by the brand new soap The Bold and the Beautiful, which also aired in double episodes and attracted more viewers than Loving ever did (over six million). As a consequence of B&B's success, Loving was moved to the morning slot in the fall, airing single episodes, which resulted in a significant drop in viewership. While Loving did eventually air until its end, it had lost its appeal. It's no wonder that no Italian network wanted to buy The City after Loving's demise.

Is it actually known whether the alleged international sale has ever saved a soap from cancellation, or was this supposed great success overseas just a promotional ploy to convince viewers in the home country of a struggling soap?

It's nice that a soap was supposedly a hit in Finland, but in countries where soaps are only subtitled, they usually only attract a few hundred thousand viewers. While that might be considered a hit in those countries, it doesn't generate much revenue from sales there. Revenue from Europe can only be generated from the major European countries, but there, the cost of dubbing comes into play, making it difficult for broadcasters. Even though there were often morning reruns of the previous day's soaps in the 80s and 90s, the dubbing costs weren't really recouped. Essentially, only dubbed sitcoms and crime dramas, which could generate good revenue through reruns, allowed broadcasters to afford US daytime soaps. Daytime soaps were canceled more quickly than shows from other genres when their ratings declined. There was also a rumor that whoever in the US was receiving the revenue from international sales demanded exorbitant prices, with prices increasing the longer a soap ran in a country. As far as I know, the Italian broadcaster was supposed to pay $5,000 for an episode of Y&R (which had solid ratings in Italy) in the 90s, so Y&R was ultimately canceled. In Italy, all US daytime soaps disappeared except for Beautiful, because the Americans were supposedly far too greedy. Instead, soaps from Spain, Germany, and Turkey are now airing along Beautiful.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Is it actually known whether the alleged international sale has ever saved a soap from cancellation, or was this supposed great success overseas just a promotional ploy to convince viewers in the home country of a struggling soap?

It's been a long time, but it was said that Santa Barbara likely would have ended much sooner had it not been for its popularity in France. It's hard to say for sure, though, because they also earned many Emmy awards that likely made NBC think twice about cancelling it. The show was a train wreck in many ways, but it outlasted its expectations, and nothing they introduced in that slot afterward was successful, either. SB went on location in Paris several times to cash in on that popularity much like B&B often goes to Italy even today.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Regarding B&B in Finland, the director told Variety, "The show arrived during Finland’s worst economic crisis, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when people had lost jobs, homes, and hope. That contrast between national despair and glamorous escapism felt cinematically powerful." I wonder how many Finns agree with this statement and how much of it is just promotional material for the documentary.

The stuff about people grasping onto "glamorous escapism" was also said about the international fans of Dallas and even Baywatch at that time, so you're correct that they're trying a little too hard to sound profound.

I think certain things enter the mythology of TV that sound great as soundbites when reminiscing about a show but in reality, probably didn’t play out as people like to say it did. Dallas and its supposed role in the fall of Communism in Europe being one example. There’s also a story about British soap EastEnders, where prisoners in a UK prison supposedly rioted because there was a power cut while they were in the middle of watching the episode where Michelle & Lofty were due to marry in the 80’s. Outside of soaps, there’s the “hiding behind the couch when Doctor Who came on” thing that has become part of the show’s lore.

Is it actually known whether the alleged international sale has ever saved a soap from cancellation, or was this supposed great success overseas just a promotional ploy to convince viewers in the home country of a struggling soap?

There’s a history of this with Australian soaps, in conjunction with their popularity in the UK. Not really in terms of saving them from immediate cancellation but more so in terms of propping them up for longer than they probably deserved.

Neighbours definitely wouldn’t have lasted as long into the 00’s had it not been for Channel 5 funding in its later years. As it was, Ten in Australia had shoved the show off to a smaller digital channel, years before the plug was finally pulled.

The Secret Life of Us (which I loved initially) was originally co-funded by Ten in Australia and Channel 4 in the UK. Channel 4 pulled out after season three and after only a handful of season four episodes aired, the show was dropped. There’s many reasons why this happened (the huge cast turnover and bad writing being the main ones) but I definitely think it wouldn’t have been yanked off the air so quickly if Channel 4 had still been involved.

There’s also a few instances where shows were banking on being popular in the UK in order to save them, Breakers and Something in the Air being two that spring to mind. The producer of the latter said that he regretted holding out on a deal to air the show on ITV in the UK, as he believed it could’ve kept the show going.

It's been a long time, but it was said that Santa Barbara likely would have ended much sooner had it not been for its popularity in France.

So popular that the French tried to replicate it (badly) with the ill fated Riviera.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

‘The Bold and the Beautiful’ Launches Streaming Subscription App BBTV, With More Than 9,000 Episodes From 37+ Seasons (EXCLUSIVE)

'The Bold and the Beautiful' has launched a streaming subscription app, BBTV, with more than 9,000 episodes from 37 seasons.

variety.com

They’re launching a B&B app where all episodes will be available to watch. Not sure what this means for the seasons available on YouTube. The channel is still there, so I’m guessing this app is maybe for US based viewers?

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

I’ve recently started watching the show from the beginning, and at the risk of stating the obvious here, I am taken aback at just how beautiful (no pun intended) that the show looks. The entire cast is gorgeous but just the whole look of the show is top class. The sets, the lighting, the wardrobe and the soundtrack just ooze class.

It is also very high drama. There is no frivolity here yet (I’m a couple years away from the arrival of the wonderfully flamboyant Sally). What has surprised me is that I’m into what would’ve been the show’s third week and the Forresters and the Logans still have yet to cross paths. The Logans have been off to the side, with Brooke’s growing interest in the much written about upcoming wedding and Beth’s previous involvement with Eric, gradually being shown onscreen. I don’t care much for the Katie acne storyline but other than that, this is excellent soap opera.