EXCLUSIVE! The Daytime Emmys Back To TV In 2018?!?!

The four broadcast soaps weren’t the only winners at the Daytime Emmys last weekend.

The National Academy of Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has released stats that reveal the awards show itself, which streamed live via Facebook live and Periscope on Twitter, garnered some rather impressive numbers.

“NATAS is thrilled to announced a total social media (Facebook/Twitter) viewership of 552,228 on April 30th and 1,877,048 viewers for the entire Daytime Emmy awards week,” according to an official press release. “The Facebook Live [event] from the Red Carpet with Carolyn Hennesy (Diane, General Hospital) resulted in 1,324,820 views, 6,462 shares, and 1,974,642 reached.”

In part one of an exclusive two part interview, Soap Hub chats with NATAS’s David Michaels about the show’s highlights and if next year’s awards show will be broadcast on television — where it belongs!

The opening number — which had daytime actors from each of the four soaps singing
“Seasons of Love” from Rent — and the 50 basset hounds that presented with Brandon McMillan (Lucky Dog) were both big hits.

The opening was everyone’s brainchild. All the singers were fabulous. I loved that we had actors from all the soaps taking part in it. I have to give a lot of credit to Caleb Martin, our musical director. We got a lot of great response to the dogs, too!

What feedback are you getting on the awards show?

I’m really happy to say it’s all positive both from the industry and the fans. The only complaint that’s recurring is it should have been on network TV…and I couldn’t agree more!

What’s the plan to get the awards back on TV for next year?

We’re approaching the major networks, and we’re also being approached by other networks. Maybe this (show that we just did) will be the one to push it over the edge?

I thought the show we did on the Warner Bros. lot two years ago (that aired on Pop) would have done it. We obviously belong on television. We got an amazing audience from our friends on Facebook and Twitter.

Are their benefits to being on the Web only? Host Sheryl Underwood’s joke about co-host Mario Lopezand the baby oil joke might have been risque for broadcast TV?

Sheryl has this way of saying quite not what she shouldn’t, but because she’s Sheryl she can say it.

We could see right away that the chemistry between Sheryl and Mario was perfect. We listened to what Sheryl and Mario had to say in meetings and we incorporated that into the show. He was the straight man to be…continue reading on the next page —>

Continue reading on the next page…

We could see right away that the chemistry between Sheryl and Mario was perfect. We listened to what Sheryl and Mario had to say in meetings and we incorporated that into the show. He was the straight man to be flirted with.

The guest actor category has been going on for three consecutive years now. Will it continue? 

I think so. There’s no problem filling it with nominees.

It was great to have recognizable names like Jane Pauley (CBS News Sunday Morning), Blair Underwood (ex-Bobby Blue, One Life to Live) and Sherri Shepherd (Hollywood Today Live) present the top acting awards, but why not have last year’s winning actors present to this year’s winners as is done at the Oscars?

Since my days, we haven’t done that. I loved the idea of Jane, Blair and Sherri giving out important awards. Jane is Jane Pauley! And certainly, she is a member of community. Blair had just won an award at the Creative Arts for executive producing Give, a children’s series.

And Sherri has won a Daytime Emmy as a co-host of The View. They’re important parts of our community. But it’s certainly not off the table in future years to have past acting winners give out the awards to the current winners.

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