Open letter to CBS about 'The Bold and the Beautiful'

Subject: 'The Bold and the Beautiful'is no longer being aired in Belgium and the timing is terrible

Dear CBS,
Last Friday, May 15th, was a very sad day for ten thousands of Belgian B&B fans.
It was the day when Vijf TV aired their final episode of 'The Bold and the Beautiful'.


I have been watching this show for 24 years, or half of my life, I am precisely 48 years old now.

I was 24 when I first saw Eric, Stephanie, Brooke and Ridge on my television and I was hooked.
Over the years, the show changed networks, and every time I went along, for my daily portion of Hollywood drama.

Later I fell in love, and got married (in Las Vegas btw), but I continued to watch my favorite soap opera. Often joking with my husband telling him I knew Ridge, Brooke, Eric and Stephanie longer than I knew him. I do you know.

I participated in every contest trying to win a meet and greet. I never won, although my neighbor’s mother once flew to LA to meet my idols thanks to 'Dag Allemaal', a Belgian magazine.

I was sad to hear Ronn Moss was leaving the show, and even sadder to hear Susan Flannery was following his example, but I still continued watching.

And if it were not for Vijf TV's decision to pull the plug, I would definitely have continued watching.


But you know where the biggest problem lies?
With the timing of that decision!!!

The final episode on Belgian TV was the one just the day after Stephanie threw her 'celebration of life-party'.
Four episodes before she dies, in the arms of Brooke. FOUR EPISODES!!!! And we, viewers in Belgium, will never see this.

Can you imagine how frustrating that is? Especially for people who have been watching this show for a quarter of a century, like me?

I contacted Vijf TV, I wrote a few blogs, I started a FB page trying to keep B&B in Belgium and I was interviewed for a national Newspaper (Het Laatste Nieuws).
They wrote a full page article

But all this to no avail.

It doesn't look like Vijf TV will come back on their decision. Not even for these four episodes about the biggest thing in soap history, EVER.

They told me that they don't buy episodes, but blocks of episodes, and therefore it is not their choice to stop B&B in the middle of a crucial storyline.

I understand you want to make the most of your show, and you probably sell blocks that don't completely cover important storylines. That means that when a country wants a complete storyline, they need to buy several blocks.

Can we say here that Vijf TV called your bluff?
With the viewer as the biggest loser.

I've been all over the internet looking for ways to keep on watching my favorite TV show.
TV shows from other European countries (on commercial networks) are not accessible to Belgium, we cannot watch their programs.

Same with the internet. Most networks have all episodes on their websites for several days, weeks, ... Some for free, others at a (moderate) fee (we wouldn't mind paying for them).
Those websites are not accessible to Belgian computers.

The complete episodes on CBS itself, or on other US networks cannot be viewed from Belgian computers, heck, even the UK Youtube channel is not accessible to Belgian computers.

Teasers and previews, yes. But full episodes? Forget it.

So, here is my plea to you.
Please make it possible for us, Belgian viewers, to watch those final episodes so we too, can say our goodbyes to Stephanie.

Send me those few episodes on a Region 2 DVD, or upload them on a link accessible to our computers, or just give them to Vijf TV to thank them for the 9 years working together.

And then we will wait till you start negotiations with another network so we can continue to follow the daily adventures of our favorite stars.

And should these negotiations fail, please give us access to your episodes, or to the Youtube channel, or any other network airing this show, and help us to watch The Bold and the Beautiful.

In the meantime I found Stephanie's dying scene on the internet. But is would be nice to have the missing four episodes leading up to this major moment with my two favorite characters.


Yours sincerely,
Carolien Krijnen