SoapNet Snags Pasadena
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/8/2005 1:10:00 PM
SoapNet has acquired short-lived prime time soap, Pasadena, from Sony Pictures Television for about $150,000.
The show, which starred Alison Lohman and Dana Delany as members of a publishing family with criminal ties, premiered on Fox in Sept. 2001 but was yanked for poor ratings after only four episodes, though 13 had been produced.
SoapNet will air all 13 hour episodes of Pasadena in its Saturday “Dysfunctional Family” block, starting early fall.
The Disney-owned cable net pulled a similar move with another short-lived Fox prime time soap, Skin, acquiring the 2003 modern-day Jeffrey Brukheimer Romeo/Juliet story from Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution earlier this year for about $300,000 and premiering it in the Dysfunctional Family block in April.
Fox canceled that show in 2003 after four of its eight episodes had aired.
The limited-run shows are an efficient buy for the still-growing network, which views the un-aired episodes as buried treasure it has uncovered for its passionate base of mostly female soap fans.
SoapNet is using acquired prime time dramas to bolster its stable of daytime series and originals in an effort to establish itself as a one-stop shop for all things soap, says president Deborah Blackwell.
The network dropped a reported $9 million to buy exclusive broadcast rights to Spelling Television’s Beverly Hills 90210 (10 seasons) and Melrose Place (seven seasons) from Paramount Domestic TV in July 2004.
SoapNet currently reaches 43.8 million U.S. homes – up 13% from last year. The network averaged 242,000 total viewers in prime during second quarter, 2005 – up 3% from last year.
This summer’s programming highlights included a July 9 “Chasin’ Jason” marathon, about the character from General Hospital; the return of original reality series I Wanna Be A Soap Star, which runs through Aug. 18; the fourth installment of SoapNet Reveals ABC Soap Secrets; and a Labor Day stunt featuring soap opera reunions.
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