GLATWT88

Is everything alright?

Those are such sudden and significant drops for the ABC lineup. I don't think I recall seeing GH below a 9 and AMC below an 8. Also, the top rated soap at 7.8 is quite shocking...it wasn't even a very gradual decline. Definitely. Seems like the Luke and Laura exit had an impact on the entire ABC lineup.

A 12.6/37 for GH...what was that about? Nice to see GL improving.

I mean it was on at 3pm in the 70s, but that was pretty standard.

What time period are you referring to that AW was on at 3pm in NYC? Since returning to its hour long episodes in the 80s, it was on at 2pm in NYC. There was some interesting scheduling on CBS 2 NY in 1979, Love of Life was on at noon, followed by SFT 12:30pm, YR at 1pm, ATWT 1:30pm, GL 2:30pm. On NBC 4 NY, Texas started off at its intended 3pm timeslot, but eventually was moved to 11am, followed by the standard NBC lineup at the time Doctors 12pm, SFT 12:30pm, Days 1pm, AW 2pm.

So GH and YR averaged the same viewers and rating, but YR had a greater share and AMC besting both of them. Even the lowest rated soaps aren't too far off.

Seems like AW was benefiting from a stronger lead in from DAYS as well as OLTL softening on ABC and Capitol performing lower than SFT did in the timeslot.

Wow, a 7.3 for Days the week of September 5-9 tying it with GL and ATWT. What a turnaround Days is having.

WCBS NY aired GL at 10am from 1995 to the very end of its run. I honestly can't remember much of what aired at the 3pm slot after GL's move...I'm sure a bunch of talk shows, reality court shows, and programs of that nature.

Capitol is also showing some growth.

Right, clearance wasn't the issue here, but their competition was tough. However, there wasn't much room to place them elsewhere in the schedule without potentially hurting the other soaps in the lineup. I still don't understand why there wasn't more push to get EON better clearance.

Can't blame Loving's or RH's number on clearances. They're both over 95%, meanwhile EON hovering in the mid/high 70% and getting Loving numbers - just doesn't make sense.

Very interesting to see OLTL slip into the 7s especially when AMC and GH are performing in the 9s/10s. Guiding Light will show a ratings improvement compared to the past several months. It was honestly slipping after such a good run with Marland.

I would say a 2.9 is actually a great improvement. Whether or not that would have maintained in the long run is difficult to know. It also helped that the PC one off probably got the same clearance as OLTL at the time.

I think it stayed on as long as it did, because NBC knew that once Passions was cancelled they weren't replacing it with another soap and that would leave Days alone while the other two networks still had a pretty full lineup. Whether or not NBC cared, I'm not sure. I think it outperforming Sunset Beach and showing growth initially was pleasing to NBC, but it never really left the bottom.

You don't think NBC gave Passions a chance? It was on NBC for 8 years and consistently low rating. Even in the key demo it ranked low with a few good weeks thrughout its run where it was in the middle of the pack. While it did see some small growth in viewership the first few years, like all other soaps numbers were eroding and with each year less and less eyes on the screen.

I did notice that clearance was quite high for Capitol, but I do wonder what ATWT viewers were switching to at that time. Not that all ATWT viewers were also watching GL, but I assume there were many CBS households that watched the lineup through just as there were ABC households. I similarly made the inference that placing a new half hour soap between established soaps (in particular hour long ones) would likely hinder networks from preempting - which seems like the case for Capitol and BB.

Definitely. I think clearance and scheduling were the greatest downfall of soaps in the 70s and 80s.

Wow, I never heard of this supposed cut to OLTL. Seems like a really bad move. The obvious choice would be to drop PC and return the half hour, instead of cutting OLTL which was fine (as fine as soaps in 2003 could be) and putting PC which was showing little to no signs of life and had been weakening for a few years in the other half hour. I mean the networks have made poorer choices...

If anything YR is proof that a new soap debuting after the 60s could be HIGHLY successful. I do consider RH to be a successful 70s debut as well, but it was stable in the middle of the pack- what I'm saying is YR was able to get to the top. While there were a few soaps that debuted in the 70s and 80s that had moderate success, none really were a top ratings contender. Some may argue that BB, but it never outdid Capitol at its peak and it lagged in the key demo until the 2000s when all the soaps were floundering anyway.

Thanks for pointing that out. Seems very unlikely that this 20 million figure is accurate with a 7.8/31. Unless the other days were really low rating, there's no way the week would have averaged pretty much where ATWT is currently rating for the weeks above in March 83. I wonder the source of this "fact" because it's been repeated countless times and in many publications.

I think pushing AMC to 12:30 and sandwiching Loving between AMC and OLTL would have been beneficial to Loving and the network as AMC was on fire and would have been a much better match up against YR (also doing extremely well) instead of a new soap trying to establish itself. I am curious to see what the affiliate numbers will be for Loving in the ratings thread. I feel like affiliates would have been less likely to preempt Loving if it was between AMC and OLTL as placing local programming between the two soaps just seems unlikely but who knows.

I watched the clip you posted. Some good stuff. I am curious what the numbers for Betsy and Steve's wedding in May 84 will turn out to be. I know there's the much repeated 20 million, but there's also much doubt surrounding that figure.

Thanks for all the insights into ratings history. I love looking back with an analytical lens. On the latest ratings, ATWT is showing growth after trailing in the previous years. And Days almost hitting 7s!

That's a decent start. I doubt it will mean much in daytime numbers. Also, interesting to see a repeat of Trapper John at the very top.