January 26-30, 2009

[Angela]

Crap, DAYS is on fire.

Total Viewers

DAYS 3,050,000 (+61,000 or more)

GH 3,000,000 (+229,000 or more)

AMC & OLTL went up 200-225,000 viewers together. How that'll break down between the two I don't know.

18-49 Rating/Viewers

1.(1) Y&R 1.9/1.23 (SAME/-17,000*)

2.(2) GH 1.6/1.03 (+.1/+13,000*)

3.(3) DOOL 1.4/943,000 (SAME/+35,000)

4.(5) AMC 1.3/855,000 (+.1/+83,000)

4.(4) B&B 1.3/855,000 (SAME/-37,000)

[SteveFrame]

wow I am shocked that the ratings went up with so many power outages. I am pleased because I really thought they would go down. Maybe the effect of many being out of work outweighed the ones who were without power.

[Rakesh]

I confess - Corday has been paying me to watch Days for a while now. Obviously I'm not the only one who is getting paid to watch the show.

[coffeebean]

And there were a lot of places that had bad weather that didn't lose power, yet school was canceled. I think that's why you see ratings are up across the board, not just one or two shows. All of ABC looks to have done very well, their soaps and The View

[ATWT_GL_fan]

does anyone know if As the World Turns and Guiding Light went up please let me know I hope all soaps do go up but I really want to know about ATWT and GL thanks

[Mitchapalooza]

Well that is not true for CBS soaps, which judging by Y&R/B&B are down this week.

We still don't know how OLTL did either.

So far only DAYS/GH/AMC are up this week in viewers.

[NYC123]

YAY FOR AMC!

Glad it rose.

[jdawg1077]

I think alot of the ratings prognositcators are too mired in the weeds to see Days' ratings for what they really mean. People assumed that with John and Marlena leaving, the ratings would decrease. I didn't think so, and for one reason only: Days was *great* last week. The entire week centered around the deliveries of those babies, which has been building for months. It was well-executed, exciting, and all-around compelling soap.

It reminds me back in 1993 when Days let go Crystal Chappelle, Michael Sabatino, and Matthew Ashford the same week. The uproar was tremendous in the fan magazines, but as they left the ratings actually went up, because the stories were good (Buried Alive, return of the Dimeras, etc.). Actors can come and go, but if the story is good, people will watch.

I know it's not popular to give credit to Dena Higley or Ken Corday, but it seems like they finally remembered what good storytelling is about (either that or they tripped over it, lol). It's not about 3-month arcs, no matter how good (Steve/Ava) or how bad (Trent Robbins) they are. It's about long-term stories with emotional investments. Soaps are marathons, not sprints. And right now, their "A" story is what is carrying them. They've added 500,000 viewers since their last "A" story (Who Killed Trent), and I don't think that can just be attributed to "winter viewing". It's attracting viewers because it's compelling, and more importantly, it's *easy* to follow. You can tune out one day and tune in the following week, and you'll know what's happening. That balance is vital for soaps these days.

What will be interesting is to see whether Days can maintain that balance without becoming too boring, or even worse, panicking at the numbers in the Spring and then pulling the trigger on the reveal. If they are smart, they will hold out for *atleast* 6 months on the EJ/Nicole/Sami reveal.

On the flipside, the "B" story has also gotten better, that being Lucas/Chloe/Daniel, although I still think that the story has been flawed from its inception. The execution has improved. I attribute some of that to Lauren Koslow, who has been so perfect as Kate these past few weeks. She's playing her role very carefully. Hinting that she knows more then she's letting on. Very nuanced. Not sure if that's direction that she's gotten, or just a choice she's made, but it works. Getting Maggie involved has also helped, but that's just because Suzanne Rogers knocks it out of the park every time. I'm finding that I'm caring about the story more than I had been, but it's for the sake of the drama, not because I care about what happens to the characters.

[Toups]

Damn, it's inevitable that Y&R will go down next week and I'm sure we'll get "See....the Sharon/Nick affair didn't bring in the ratings. HA!"

There's no way they'll gain next week after a 447,000+ gain this week.

The rest of the ratings will be up late...probably after 12am EST.

[thelma42]

LOL!! GO Y&R!!!!

[Roman]

Days rose, on top of everyting else, IMO, because many knew that was their last episode, probably for good.

Let's see what their ratings look like next week.

[bandbfan]

Even though B&B got the winter storm big boost, I think it happened at a good time. The show is good again and maybe a few of those viewers will stick.

[Ann_SS]

Wow, impressive gains. I never thought Y&R would see 4.0 again, May the bad weather continue and keep people inside watching the soaps.

[dragonflies]

I figured AMC would go up cause of the storms and people being stranded at home, those that had power

It's sad that it takes something like this for shows to even go up like this, that to me is not much of a victory, cause they wont sustain it

[alwaysAMC]

Go AMC!

Huge gains for everyone. Maybe the lay offs and recession is helping too...more people at home with no jobs?