VIDEO: Oprah Opens Up About Why She "Really Can't" Save Axed ABC Soaps

Fans of All My Children and One Life to Live are going to have to start looking for a new life preserver. Oprah Winfrey says in a new video obtained by Extrathat, despite receiving pleas from ABC soap viewers, she cannot save the canceled daytime shows.

"I understand what it feels like to have a show you love off the air. I appreciate that you all think I could save the soaps. But here is the bone-marrow truth. The soaps have been an institution in broadcast history and television because they had the support of the audience," Winfrey says, pointing to both shows' declining ratings in recent years.

ABC cancels All My Children and One Life to Live

Winfrey, 57, said she understands what it feels like to see a beloved show leave the airwaves, comparing All My Children and One Life to Live to The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

"Believe me, if there was a dime left to be made from them on broadcast television it would still be happening," she says. "I will not be taking on the responsibility of trying to revive an institution that for all intent and all purpose indicates that that time has come for it to be over. So thank you for believing I could save them. But I really can't."

Watch the full video here: