All:Would soap operas survive and get better ratings if they all started at 3pm in the afternoon?

[Paul Raven]

In Australia,Bold and Beautiful airs at 4.30 before the 5 pm news and has done so for most of its run.

It has a loyal following-=as evidenced by the decision to shoot the 20th anni eps in Sydney.

[Cheyenne]

When B&B aired at c:a 5 pm in Sweden it had great ratings. When they put it back on "regular" soap time the ratings decreased. It's a fact that more people would be able to watch if the soaps aired later in the afternoon. If it would be the same in the US I don't know, but it should help atleast a little.

[DevotedToAMC]

For me it wouldn't because I think most people record their shows so it would not matter the timeslot since they wouldn't watch it live anyways....to get better ratings means having head writers and executive producers who know what they are doing (Agnes Nixon, Claire Labine, Lorraine Broderick, Wisner Washam, Hogan Sheffer, Kay Alden, William Bell RIP, Felicia Minei Behr, Wendy Riche, Francesca James)

[sheilaforever]

Tricky question: soap would have higher ratings that's for sure. But would they be high enough to compete with those court shows and other sndication filler material?

I don't think so: I tend to believe that people go away from soaps not only because the writing is overall pretty disappointing but because many people don't like a daily commitment. They want to watch their stuff when THEY have time and mood for it. Hence the up-speeding of plots, one big event every day, is contra-productive because when soaps were slower you could tune in and still find your way through it. This is more complicated nowadays and the newtork view that this should force viewers to tune in daily isn't cutting it.

[Keith]

It's silly to say the time slot would make no difference, IMO. The times have changed. Just looking at the ratings for Primetime (in comparison with Daytime) shows that. However, unless creatove makeovers occurr as well, this change would be but a flash in the pan.