Digest: Some press outlets reported that SOAPnet had acquired 35 years’ worth of AW. I didn’t think the archives contained all of those episodes.
Blackwell: No, you’re right about that. The truth is, I was getting carried away in saying 35 years’ worth of episodes because we do have access to it all, but when it comes to showing some of the early episodes, we have to inventory what’s available. I guess there are a lot of holes. Then you never know where you can find cassettes when you really need to.
Digest: It’s amazing that so many of the early episodes weren’t kept.
Blackwell: It’s really bizarre and upsetting, I agree. We have the same issues with GENERAL HOSPITAL. It’s such a shame. It highlights one of the ways in which SOAPnet is different from daytime. Network daytime only lives in the present. They never refer to the past, and it’s a little bit of an embarrassment that somebody different was playing a part. SOAPnet has the ability to look back in time, and it’s a new dimension that SOAPnet brings to the soap fan.
Digest: If a household doesn’t have SOAPnet, how can someone get it?
Blackwell: Call your cable operator or satellite provider. Calls really count. We’re in a situation in which we’re one of the fastest-growing cable networks, [but] we’re still only in 30 million homes. So, we have a tremendous amount of growth that we need to get. Every cable operator in America has to make its own decision to roll the channel out in its community. So, we’re pressing them hard all the time to launch us, but it really helps when fans write or call in and request it.
For the latest information on AW on SOAPnet, check in with Digest & Weekly Online or SOAPnet.com.
