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Numbers are based on Live+Same Day ratings

Ratings for the week March 31 - April 4, 2008

(Compared to Last Week/Compared to Last Year)

Total Viewers

1. Y&R 5,205,000 (-248,000/-173,000)

2. B&B 3,666,000 (-378,000/-103,000)

3. GH 2,842,000 (+23,000/-430,000)

4. DAYS 2,823,000 (-19,000/+213,000)

5. ATWT 2,795,000 (-348,000/-201,000)

6. OLTL 2,414,000 (-16,000/-487,000)

7. AMC 2,413,000 (-48,000/-596,000) <------ new low

8. GL 2,306,000 (-271,000/-451,000) <------ new low

HH

1. Y&R 3.8/13 (same/-.3) <------- ties low rating

2. B&B 2.7/9 (-.1/-.2)

3. DAYS 2.1/7 (same/same)

3. ATWT 2.1/7 (-.1/-.2)

3. GH 2.1/7 (same/-.4) <--------- ties low rating

6. AMC 1.9/6 (same/-.5) <-------- ties low rating

6. OLTL 1.9/6 (same/-.4) <------- ties low rating

8. GL 1.7/5 (-.1/-.4) <------------- new low rating

Women 18-49 Viewers

1. Y&R 1,123,000 (-134,000/-62,000)

2. GH 1,007,000 (-19,000/-153,000)

3. DAYS 959,000 (+109,000/+86,000)

4. B&B 834,000 (-134,000/+34,000)

5. OLTL 816,000 (-8,000/-178,000)

6. AMC 763,000 (-39,000/-185,000)

7. ATWT 757,000 (-144,000/+32,000)

8. GL 703,000 (-89,000/-57,000)

Women 18-49 Rating

1. Y&R 1.7/12 (-.2/-.1) <--------- ties low rating

2. DAYS 1.5/9 (+.2/+.2)

2. GH 1.5/9 (-.1/-.3)

4. B&B 1.3/8 (-.2/+.1)

5. OLTL 1.2/8 (same/-.3) <-------- ties low rating

5. AMC 1.2/7 (same/-.2)

7. ATWT 1.1/7 (-.3/same)

7. GL 1.1/7 (-.1/-.1)

Girls 12-17 Viewers

1. GL 43,000 (-4,000/+8,000)

2. ATWT 38,000 (-9,000/-12,000)

3. GH 33,000 (-11,000/-54,000)

4. DAYS 30,000 (-26,000/-23,000)

5. B&B 22,000 (-19,000/-27,000)

5. Y&R 22,000 (-12,000/-69,000)

7. OLTL 20,000 (-17,000/-37,000)

8. AMC 16,000 (-4,000/-45,000)

Women 18-34 Rating

1. DAYS 1.0/7 (same/-.3)

1. GH 1.0/6 (same/-.3)

3. Y&R 0.8/6 (-.2/-.6)

3. OLTL 0.8/5 (same/-.3)

5. AMC 0.7/5 (-.1/-.3)

6. ATWT 0.6/4 (-.2/-.2)

6. B&B 0.6/4 (-.2/-.3)

8. GL 0.5/3 (-.1/-.3)

Men 18+ Viewers

1. Y&R 1,401,000 (-15,000/+179,000)

2. B&B 912,000 (-295,000/+116,000)

3. ATWT 672,000 (-36,000/+65,000)

4. DAYS 567,000 (-16,000/+83,000)

5. GL 523,000 (+11,000/-47,000)

6. GH 516,000 (-8,000/-35,000)

7. AMC 492,000 (+18,000/-72,000)

8. OLTL 443,000 (+7,000/-26,000)

-------------------------------------

Day-To-Day HH Ratings - HH/Total Viewers

AMC

Monday: 2.0/2,674,000

Tuesday: 1.9/2,519,000

Wednesday: 1.9/2,426,000

Thursday: 1.7/2,228,000

Friday: 1.8/2,218,000

ATWT

Monday: 2.2/3,012,000

Tuesday: 2.1/2,721,000

Wednesday: 2.1/2,845,000

Thursday: 2.0/2,714,000

Friday: 2.0/2,684,000

B&B

Monday: 2.8/3,794,000

Tuesday: 2.7/3,735,000

Wednesday: 2.6/3,722,00

Thursday: 2.6/3,655,000

Friday: 2.5/3,425,000

DAYS

Monday: 2.2/3,035,000

Tuesday: 2.0/2,654,000

Wednesday: 2.1/2,842,000

Thursday: 2.2/3,026,000

Friday: 1.9/2,557,000

GH

Monday: 2.3/3,217,000

Tuesday: 2.2/2,961,000

Wednesday: 2.0/2,566,000

Thursday: 2.0/2,725,000

Friday: 2.1/2,740,000

GL

Monday: 1.8/2,498,000

Tuesday: 1.7/2,209,000

Wednesday: 1.7/2,421,000

Thursday: 1.6/2,237,000

Friday: 1.6/2,166,000

OLTL

Monday: 2.0/2,763,000

Tuesday: 2.0/2,523,000

Wednesday: 1.8/2,263,000

Thursday: 1.7/2,298,000

Friday: 1.9/2,223,000

Y&R

Monday: 4.0/5,496,000

Tuesday: 3.8/5,289,000

Wednesday: 3.7/5,105,000

Thursday: 3.6/4,951,000

Friday: 3.7/5,187,000

----------------------

For the SEASON September 24, 2007 through April 6, 2008

HH

1. Y&R 4.1

2. B&B 2.9

3. GH 2.4

4. ATWT 2.3

5. OLTL 2.2

6. AMC 2.1

6. DAYS 2.1

8. GL 1.9

Women 18-49 Rating

1. Y&R 2.0

2. GH 1.6

3. DAYS 1.5

4. OLTL 1.4

4. B&B 1.4

6. ATWT 1.3

6. AMC 1.3

8. GL 1.2

Edited April 11, 200817 yr by Toups

The problem at least for me is not the mob on GH but the fact that the show has become all about the mob.

Soaps have always been and should always be about BALANCE. And that doesn't just mean equality in presence but it means the overall structure of the show.

Soaps in the 70's and 80's (even GH under the Luke and Laura years) were never about one couple or one thing. Characters and stories supported one another. The big problem with the mob, and certain couples like Zendell, EJami/Lumi, John/Natalie, and others and even certain performers like Michael Easton and others is that the shows have become so much about them that the shows have totally gotten off balance.

Never did characters on soaps solely exist to prop other couples and characters until the last few years.

Soap opers should and always should be an ensemble thing. They are a blending of the whole canvas working together as a whole. They should have shining characters and stuff, but no one should dominate or overwhelm all the ohters. That is the way soaps were for years.

Stories rotated between characters and stuff. They told stories sometimes with small arcs here and there that went about for even years at a time and hitting so many dramatic highlights through the years.

Now they rush from point a to point b so quickly that many times they even miss story arcs. They put their key couples into these fast based plot driven stories that move them so quickly from one point to another that the couples wear out too.

For instance, Doug & Julie on Days of Our Lives met in 1970 and knew they loved one another, but they never got together until 6 years later. It was years before they even slept together. Every little beat was played up from tiemes that they only held hands to the first kiss to the first time they made love.

They bled every moment. There were lots of little stories in there that kept things interesting but the big major story was Doug & Julie. At the same time they had so many other stories going - Mickey/Maggie/Bill/Laura, Mickey's amnesia, Tom's heart problems, Susan/Greg/Eric, and many others.

The mob has taken over GH and every story comes back to it at some point. It is no longer just an umbrella story on the show it is the be all and end all of the show. To me umbrella stories are one thing but often lately they take an umbrella story and make it what the whole show is about. All balance is lost.

i think that was his/her point. the person you quoted..like some may look at GH as a soap based on hospital drama. b/c many fans out their that watch soaps like DOOL/ATWT/GL.."etc". look at the GH name and think? hey that's a hospital soap. and not be interested in watching. but since most of us that watched GH from the beginning. we know what it really focuses on..ie"Mob S/L's"..which might interest allot of people that like that sorta stuff...because lets be honest here. GH mob S/L's have evolved and stepped far far away from the soap gene along time ago. dating back to the Luke/Laura days when they were on the run..nowadays people come to expect romance on their fav soap. but on GH. like you said. theirs no balance. i can Agree with that. everyone on the show is either friends with the mob. related to the mob. or somehow connected to the mob..and it does have the violence to back it up...which is one of the reasons i will always love one of the two ABC soaps. AMC/OLTL i could pretty much see drowning in a pool of blood..and not care. but GH i will definitely be shedding a tear if anything were to happen. call me bias or whatever. i like the Action GH brings to the table..name one soap that has a bunch of mobsters running in a building blasting AK47's/shotguns/machine guns? i rest my case. also..what that poster was saying is. if GH was named something else. other then General Hospital...perhaps.."Port Charles mobsters"...do you think it would be a success? i mean the majority that watch other soaps. see the GH name and figure it's a hospital base soap..IMO we know it's anything but. yes. the characters. and S/l's in some form or another focus on the mob. yes the hospital is their. but even i have to admit. the hospital is their just to heal the wounded mobsters who got shot in a shootout..not to mention. if i had a dollar for everytime someone said they quit GH b/c the mob violence got too overwhelming.. i would be a pretty rich guy. i think that's where GH went wrong. yeah GH has the mob. and yeah it wasn't always the center of every S/L. much less the mob had balance back then. it was until the 90's. the mob violence went full force. which of course the ratings started to decrease. I'm just saying maybe people need to stop with the blame game. and start noticing that maybe the ABC ratings are low due to the fact the people tuned out for biased reasons. the majority that watch soaps. is for romance. that's the core audience. when you alienate your fanbase. you lose viewers. and that's what ABC has done. they alienated long time viewers that watched GH for the romance aspect. and they turned the show into something completely different from the intended soap gene.

Edited April 15, 200817 yr by shawn Perez

Ok. I have to say something.

You are more than entittled to your opinion........but have you ever given any thought to the fact that maybe people have turned off GH is because......

THAT SHOW SUCKS?!?!

You keep blaming the viewers for the reason why GH is sinking, andit seems to me that you still have not heard one GH fan when they say that featuring The Mob all the time really turns them off. How is it the GH fans fault for tuning out of a bad show that features one type of storytellig over everything else?

And, question. Do you honestly mean to tell me that GH has stayed on network television all these years by focusing on one type of story?

Maybe it's you that are biased........biased towards any GH fan who tells you that they are sick of all the violence, stunts and Sweeps stories and the fact that trhey REFUSE to hear what the fans are saying.

But.......since GH is basically The Godfather of daytime television, doesn't matter what other fans think.

And if GH is doing so well.......why was it 4th from the bottom last week? Yeah, that Mob crap really is working, isn't it?

Ok. I have to say something.

You are more than entittled to your opinion........but have you ever given any thought to the fact that maybe people have turned off GH is because......

THAT SHOW SUCKS?!?!

You keep blaming the viewers for the reason why GH is sinking, andit seems to me that you still have not heard one GH fan when they say that featuring The Mob all the time really turns them off. How is it the GH fans fault for tuning out of a bad show that features one type of storytellig over everything else?

And, question. Do you honestly mean to tell me that GH has stayed on network television all these years by focusing on one type of story?

Maybe it's you that are biased........biased towards any GH fan who tells you that they are sick of all the violence, stunts and Sweeps stories and the fact that trhey REFUSE to hear what the fans are saying.

But.......since GH is basically The Godfather of daytime television, doesn't matter what other fans think.

And if GH is doing so well.......why was it 4th from the bottom last week? Yeah, that Mob crap really is working, isn't it?

like i was saying before you proved my point..."READ VERY CAREFULLY"..don't criticize my post unless you acknowledge my comment..the reason GH is low on ratings is b/c the violence over shadows the romance. which is the main purpose why viewers bother to watch soaps in the first place...for the romance aspect. since GH is mostly about the mob..viewers tuned out..maybe that's not your cup of tea. but for me it is..i don't give a f*** if you disagree with me or not. you have your opinions i have mine..GH may be in 4th last week. but were in 3rd this week..atleast GH doesn't try to mimic all those horrible crappy ass soaps that do basically the same thing in terms of Story telling. and cheesy romances that make me turn the channel and laugh at how stupid the people on their are.. and when the ratings were high back then for GH. despite the constant violence. it had balance..so i can understand why viewers get pissed when GH main focus is the mob...but you know what. since were on the subject. i know what GH excuse is for having low ratings...let me ask you something. what's the excuse of those soaps that fellow the soap rules? the other lowest rated soaps have romance. they have family drama...could it be that people really don't give a s*** about the soap gene? has that EVER occurred to you? IMO nothing is wrong with the writing. the dialogue is grade A. it's people like you that give GH a bad name. with all this negativity. bashing on GH. a show that you don't even watch.

Edited April 15, 200817 yr by shawn Perez

...

Edited April 15, 200817 yr by shawn Perez

Amazing.

This coming from the same person who has told viewers that they have a bias against crap.

And........if memory serves, you have came in these very same threads and bashed Days and other shows that you don't watch.

Oh, I forgot........you have that right, but no one else does.

Sorry bout that.

As a former GH lover who LOVED the show the way it used to be with balance and good story telling, the viewers are not the problem. This is a soap opera not a primetime show and if it were a primetime show competing against the likes of shows like The Sopranos in it;s day or Wiseguy it would fail miserably. What I see on GH are good actors trying to make poor stories and material work. Board after board of viewers complaining about this show, ratings down the toilet don't lie. I loved Sonny as a character back years ago. He had depth and I will never forget the scene with Laura calling Jason and Sonny murderers when Lucky 'died'. You would never see that today but that was great writing and storytelling which no longer exists.

The show has turned into plots with no likable characters anymore. I no longer watch but tell me one root for couple or character on this show. They have turned Lulu into a Carly clone, Nikolas is a shadow of what the Cassadines were - nothing like this great evil family. They killed off the Q's, the most entertaining dysfunctional family on this show, marginalized the Spencers, the family and couple that MADE this show, decimated the Cassadines, the most kniving, vengeful, entertaining family on this show(weren't Stefan and Alexis the best siblings ever), and put the violence front and center.

If ABC wants this to be a primetime show, they should move it to the proper time and quit selling it as a soap. Problem is during primetime up against the likes of good TV like Law and Order and CSI and good cable shows like House it would fail miserably - they know better.

Edited April 15, 200817 yr by emilyq

The show has turned into plots with no likable characters anymore. I no longer watch but tell me one root for couple or character on this show. They have turned Lulu into a Carly clone, Nikolas is a shadow of what the Cassadines were - nothing like this great evil family. They killed off the Q's, the most entertaining dysfunctional family on this show, marginalized the Spencers, the family and couple that MADE this show, decimated the Cassadines, the most kniving, vengeful, entertaining family on this show(weren't Stefan and Alexis the best siblings ever), and put the violence front and center.

If ABC wants this to be a primetime show, they should move it to the proper time and quit selling it as a soap. Problem is during primetime up against the likes of good TV like Law and Order and CSI and good cable shows like House it would fail miserably - they know better.

IA

On your second point I so agree

GH just out right sucks.

li know what GH excuse is for having low ratings...let me ask you something. what's the excuse of those soaps that fellow the soap rules? the other lowest rated soaps have romance. they have family drama...could it be that people really don't give a s*** about the soap gene? has that EVER occurred to you? IMO nothing is wrong with the writing. the dialogue is grade A. it's people like you that give GH a bad name. with all this negativity. bashing on GH. a show that you don't even watch.

Since I watch one of the lowest rated soaps(GL) I can tell you that they do not follow the soap rules,have romance or family drama and that is why it is at the bottom. People care about the soaps but it is the executives that refuses to give the fans what we want and that is why you are seeing low ratings.

GH sucks because of the focus on the mob.

Since I watch one of the lowest rated soaps(GL) I can tell you that they do not follow the soap rules,have romance or family drama and that is why it is at the bottom. People care about the soaps but it is the executives that refuses to give the fans what we want and that is why you are seeing low ratings.

Exactly. GL is dying because the writers seem to have no understanding of love, romance, friendship, loyalty, and/or family. At the end of the day, that's what soaps have always been about and now that most of them are either ignoring or bastardizing those concepts, they're dying. Coincidence? I don't think so.

i think that was his/her point. the person you quoted..like some may look at GH as a soap based on hospital drama. b/c many fans out their that watch soaps like DOOL/ATWT/GL.."etc". look at the GH name and think? hey that's a hospital soap. and not be interested in watching. but since most of us that watched GH from the beginning. we know what it really focuses on..ie"Mob S/L's"..

No. In the beginning it was a hospital soap. There is no rational debate about that. It just IS.

Since when did GH start out as being about the Mob. It never did. I was about GENERAL HOSPITAL. The mob was brought in with Luke Spencer as a side story and stayed that way until Sonny Corinthos popped up. Even then it was never glorified. Sonny was a tier 2 character and very effective at that and the mob was a part of not the entire show until Guza took over and slowly got rid of everything else to where it is today. The audience eroding on all soaps is a nature of the times. On ABCD because Frons and his personal agenda takes precendence over producing good quality television. OLTL is the exception and they get marginalized by Frons for AMC and GH.

GH is a little too violent for me most of the time. At other times, however, it is really good. I really like the two women lawyers together and Max is a real hoot. I also think all of the actors on GH are really really good. Ric Hearst is so good. Anyway, I wish GH would tune down the violence and, you know, stop glamorizing murder. However, there are things about the show that are really good.

No. In the beginning it was a hospital soap. There is no rational debate about that. It just IS.

Thank you TC! If anyone was watching back in the 70s like I was, the hospital was shown 85% of the time. It revolved around doctors and nurses and not the mob. The mob was the backburner storyline while the hospital and other storylines were front and center. Rick, Monica, Alan triangle anyone? Probably the most popular storyline in GH history and is still talked about today by us 'old heads'.

But what do I know, I'm just a soap fan who STILL watches this stupid ass show!

All this criticism about GH and me being one of the major critics I wanted to give everyone a different perspective. I think GH has tried to differentiate itself from the others. I can't criticize them for trying this. I can understand it. What I can criticize is what they have elected to change.

It seems to be to have a successful soap, you need to have characters people care about no matter how much violence exists. Slowly this show has taken away that and with that the heart that every soap needs to sustain long term viewers. I remember the days when I used to run home to watch GH and would not want to miss a second of it because it was so compelling. Even the characters I hated I enjoyed watching. BUt with the exit of Laura Spencer and the insulting way she was written off the show and the murder/killing of legacy characters like AJ, Alan, and Emily Quartermaine, Georgie Jones, characters long time viewers grew up watching and cared about, 3 of which still had loads of story left to tell, the show lost it's way. The problem is just not the violence, it is the way women are portrayed as simply extensions of the men they are with. Years ago women had careers that mattered and were part of their essence. Today, that the heck does Lulu Spencer do. Nothing. She is the prime example of what is wrong with this show. The daughter of an icon has ever reason to be a root for heroine yet she is the one of the most hated polarizing characters on this show. There is example number XXXX as to why this show is sinking.

I frimly believe that all the show cares about is the demo it is targeting and sweeps is it's attempt to lure viewers in and hope some stick. The thing I don;t think they realized is that they would be unable to sustain the long time viewers they relied on for so many years to sustain them while their approach changed. But as part of their coveted demo, I find nothing remotely likable about what they are doing.

I guess the complaining is due to sadness. I stopped watching GH when they killed off my beloved Emily after killing off my beloved Alan and AJ and soon to come Georgie. I still am sad when I think about this and my ideal side hope that sometime someone who actually cares about the show and the genre will correct all the mistakes made in the last XX years. Sadly I think TPTB will let this show continue it's downward spiral before they even think about changes. It almost makes me want to cry thinking about it.