Soap opera community photos scoops news buzz and celebrities

Article Index
SoapClassics Mark Yates and the As the World Turns DVD collection
Page 2
All Pages

A native New Yorker who calls Chelsea home, Mark Yates is no stranger to marketing and distributing television offerings. One of the masterminds behind the As the World Turns DVD collection now available at soapclassics.com, he started with Showtime, and then to Broadway Video in 1994.  In 2007, he split BVDM off from Broadway video, and then became president of BVDM (Broadway Video Digital Media).  SoapClassics is a division of BVDM, and as its president, Yates brings that wealth of distribution experience to marketing one of Procter & Gamble’s most beloved soap operas – As the World Turns.  

Soapdom’s first big question to Yates?

How did SoapClassics come about?

“We had been working with P&G Telenext in preserving and restoring the content of the reels for the classics soaps collection,” Yates revealed. “When the soaps were cancelled, we saw an opportunity to partner with them to both preserve the content and to become the international distributor.”

Yates went on to say that P&G soaps had been airing in certain international markets since the 1980s.  “Germany, Italy, the UK.  They are still airing in Germany, Iceland, and UK.  And we are actively negotiating new deals throughout the world. Broadcasters are interested in the material going back to 1980,” he said. SoapClassics is also in negotiations for foreign language DVD releases in several countries.  

“There is interest. It’s been fascinating,” Yates said. “I always knew there was a market, but I didn’t anticipate it to be this robust.”

Nothing that any die hard As the World Turns fan didn’t already know.  At www.Soapdom.com we had ATWT fans from The Netherlands, and quite a few at that.

BDVM estimates there are 30 or 40 million fans worldwide that are interested in this content.  “We also believe that under the right conditions and the right media, new younger viewers (will be attracted to the material). Soap operas are what we consider to be the original reality TV.”

Take that Snookie and all you real housewives.

So why did SoapClassics lean toward the Procter & Gamble soap operas to begin with?
 
“The physical materials were deteriorating,” Yates shared. There is only so much shelf life for video tape.  “(Our methods) preserve and digitize the material so it will be available for future generations. It’s what made the deal really compelling for P&G and for us, making sure their asset was preserved, and we were able to become the distributor.”  Yates went on to state with a fair amount of pride, “For me personally, I know I was responsible for reserving a huge part of American culture.”

It's clear that Yates is all business in regard to distributing the Procter & Gamble catalog, but when it comes to As the World Turns, that particular soap holds some fond memories for him.  It's these family moments that made him choose As the World Turns episodes for the first release.

“It was the soap I watched with my grandmother,” Yates revealed.  “Which only serves to demonstrate the emotional attachment everyone has to whatever show for whatever reason.”

< Prev		Next >