ABC Daytime is seeking a waiver from the Writers Guild of America that would allow to trim up to 20 original episodes from each of its three soaps and replace them with repeats, the soap site Daytime Confidential reports.
WGA declined to comment and a rep for ABC Daytime has yet to respond to TheWrap's phone call.
According to the report, which cites "multiple sources," ABC is looking to trim episodes from "All My Children," "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital."
Collective bargaining, however, dictates that ABC clear that through the union, which has a contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers stipulating a minumum number of episodes that must be shot.
According to the report, ABC has told the WGA that writers might be cut if episodes can't be trimmed back.
While advertisers are still buying time on network soaps, ratings have been on the steady decline for decades.
The WGA's current daytime TV agreement with the AMPTP expires May 1, 2011.
