Over the past week, All My Children fans -- and reportedly some of the show's performers -- have been panicked by a report that the ABC soap is being moved from its current home in New York City to a studio in sunny Los Angeles.

The panic first began when Daytime Confidential's Jamey Giddens posted a story about the rumored move. The all-things-daytime news and gossip site noted that the show could greatly cut its costs with a simple move.

"It would be so much cheaper to produce the show in L.A., because they can build permanent sets," Giddens quoted a source as saying. "That's one of the reason's it is so expensive to do shows in New York, because you have to pay the Union workers to come in and break downs sets every day."

The comment echoed one made in April by Soap Central's Dan J Kroll on his weekly Internet radio show. A 2003 episode of A&E's Biography prompted the discussion of how All My Children's small studio space requires the show to store most of its sets and props off-site. The cross-town storage facility requires the show to pay for sets to be stored, transported, and assembled -- all of which comes directly from its operating budget.

As for the rumor, it's also something that's been talked about before.

"This rumor has been in the zeitgeist for years," an ABC spokesperson tells Soap Central. "If there is ever something official to announce, you will hear it from me."

Indeed if the news of All My Children looking for a new home sounds familiar, it should. Back in January, Soap Central first reported on talk that ABC was considering moving the 39-year-old drama series out of Manhattan to save money. At the time, a setside spy hinted that the network wanted to move the production of All My Children to New Jersey, much the way that CBS's Guiding Light did for its on-location shoots.

With the latest chatter about a move, secondary reports have surfaced hinting that one of the reasons ABC execs want to move the show to Los Angeles is because they know that many of the show's highest-paid stars would not relocate to the West Coast.

"ABC is also trying to figure out a way to throw Susan Lucci (Erica) on recurring," TVGuide Canada's Nelson Branco writes in his latest Suds Report column. "The network doesn't know how they will pull this off, but they're trying to find a way to do it. Hello: L.A.!"

A show spy says that talk of Lucci's impending exit from All My Children is "absolutely ridiculous."

With ratings still sagging and ad revenue down, it doesn't take much to makes fans fear that their favorite daytime drama series might soon face cancellation.

"The three ABC soaps [All My Children, One Life to Live, and General Hospital] are in a unique position. Unlike any of the other soaps on the other networks, ABC doesn't have to split its profits from the shows with anyone else," Kroll also explained during his radio show. "ABC owns all of its soaps outright. So unlike Days of our Lives -- or even The Young and the Restless -- there are no licensing fees or distributing costs that have to be paid."

Still, Daytime Confidential asserts that not having to give up any slices of the proverbial pie hasn't kept ABC executives from eyeing the elimination of one of its soaps

"Reportedly this move would prevent ABC from having to cancel one of its three soap operas for the time being," Giddens concluded.

Meanwhile, Branco adds that the AMC secret is so secret -- that no one knows about it.

"The network heads, according to my moles, hadn't told anyone yet because they are still trying to figure out all the logistics," Branco noted. "There could be an announcement as early as [this] week, but [Daytime Confidential] could have scared off ABC."

Or, as has been the case over the past decade or so, the show really might not be moving.