From a 3.9 to 3.3 in three days? Geez Y&R!

What the hell, Y&R?! Please tell me this is the Eden effect and not, say, episodes involving Jill, Kay or the Abbotts.

Hopefully AMC will start to gain some momentum.

GH, WTF? I'm assuming they got a jump from Da Wedding o' Gunshots because the show as an entity is dire.

Well, it's nice to see All My Children do well in the 12-17 age group. Hopefully they can hold on to these viewers because they eventually graduate into the 18-49 group.

I question how meaningful those 12-17 numbers are. No. 1, they are minuscule. 35,000 viewers separate first and last place, and the shows often see shifts of 10,000 viewers a week.

Y&R just can't seem to stabilize.

And whatever stunt OLTL pulled on Thursday probably kept them from hitting a new low.

But a 1.6 on Tuesday for AMC? Was there some sort of preemptions/other weirdness?

Edited October 10, 200817 yr by marceline

Y&R just can't seem to stabilize.

And whatever stunt OLTL pulled on Thursday probably kept them from hitting a new low.

But a 1.6 on Tuesday for AMC? Was there some sort of preemptions/other weirdness?

If we took the glory days of Y&R, say 1990, what were the week by week fluctuations in # viewers and day-by-day ratings? I don't think we have this level of detail in Toups' ratings archive.

What I'd like to know is whether, IN ABSOLUTE numbers, the "lack of stability" is the same now as it always was, or if it has worsened. Because if the absolutely numbers are similar, then the problem is really only a problem because of the low baseline of viewers now watching.

My assumption is that it has worsened, since there are so many easier ways of getting caught up now (magazines, internet, etc.).

Obviously, since the worse attrition is usually mid-week, it seems that viewers are making more time to watch around the weekends. (This would support Goutman's sense that maybe there is not an appetite anymore for 5 days). A question is whether this is TRUE attrition, or whether the shortfall is being made up on things like Youtube, fancast, or CBS.com. Is there a reason to believe that those midweek viewers are not lapsed, but watching in other ways?

It also raises another question: We have all noted that ratings do not reflect day-by-day variations in 'quality' (whatever that means)...so increasing the consistency of 'quality', it would seem, would be unlikely to increase this problem of instability. So how do you fix it?

Should there be MAJOR cliffhangers on Monday and Tuesday? Would that solve the problem? Should promotion to tune in be highest on Monday and Tuesday?

Gosh, it is a good think I don't work for the networks, because I would SO be pushing all kinds of experiments :-).

Obviously, since the worse attrition is usually mid-week, it seems that viewers are making more time to watch around the weekends. (This would support Goutman's sense that maybe there is not an appetite anymore for 5 days). A question is whether this is TRUE attrition, or whether the shortfall is being made up on things like Youtube, fancast, or CBS.com. Is there a reason to believe that those midweek viewers are not lapsed, but watching in other ways?

That puts me in mind of something I heard on the 10th Wonder podcast after Heroes premiere. Even though most of the media had panned the ratings as lackluster, that show was BitTorrented one million times and was the number one download on iTunes for the next two days. They didn't have stats for downloads on NBC.com. That doesn't translate well for traditional ad sales but it means the world for product placement. At least CBS allows you to stream their shows. I don't know what ABC's problem is. Are they trying to drive people to SoapNet? I don't think its working.

Y&R just can't seem to stabilize.

And whatever stunt OLTL pulled on Thursday probably kept them from hitting a new low.

But a 1.6 on Tuesday for AMC? Was there some sort of preemptions/other weirdness?

No, prememption. Look who was featured:

Annie/Babe/JR, Opal/Krystal/Tad, Kendall/Zach, Ryan/Greenlee

Too much sextet! (Well, Aiden wasn't in this one but 5 out of 6 is still way too much.)

I still want to know why GH is higher than the other ABC soaps.

I guess maybe people just watch out of habit or something. Since so many people I talk to think GH is crap.

Sucks for AMC and OLTL though. The ratings are a scam. They don't reflect what anyone really thinks about a show because some people aren't home at 1 and 2 to catch them..but are home by 3 to catch GH.

I still want to know why GH is higher than the other ABC soaps.

I guess maybe people just watch out of habit or something. Since so many people I talk to think GH is crap.

Sucks for AMC and OLTL though. The ratings are a scam. They don't reflect what anyone really thinks about a show because some people aren't home at 1 and 2 to catch them..but are home by 3 to catch GH.

I think you're right...I don't think it is habit, but timeslot. Some kids get home by 3 or 3:30--and lots of health care professionals do too--and they get to watch GH in many time slots. I think it is that simple.

It's good to see that GL has been holding steady - and viewership didn't dip below 2,000,000. Arguably, it was a good, steady week for GL.

Is it me? Or does it seem that lately the weekly ratings thread is the victim of the same ennui as the soaps?

Too much sextet! (Well, Aiden wasn't in this one but 5 out of 6 is still way too much.)

Nothing to do with the sextet, it's all the Ryan pimping, and the woe is me Annie hour, something has to give there before long Pratt.

You reaped what you sewed......

I cannot believe that Y&R has fallen in the low 5 mil, high 4!

I cannot believe that Y&R has fallen in the low 5 mil, high 4!

Do you think folks are watching it on Soapnet instead of CBS during the day, or do the ratings factor in the multiple airings of Y&R?