March 2-6, 2009

[Ryan Chamberlain]

I think it's awesome that AMC beat GH!

It may not be the best here lately. But, if it stays above GH. I'll be happy.

[JackPeyton]

Im happy Days seems to be doing OK

[Cyberologist]

YAY!!!

AMC kicked some GH bum

some very good storytelling going down there

I have a few issues but

I'm enjoying the stories overall. GH is just horrid right now

for me...I don't know what it is exactly can't put my finger on it

but something isn't blending well maybe its they fit

too many characters in one eppy or something

so it hinders the momemtum / pacing

its too much in one eppy they need to streamline the number

of segments for while so it flows better

...they jump from one act to the next

and its just choppy for me for some reason...

Very happy for DOL's gains...

I hope it continues even though

I'm not pleased with the departures

I want the show to survive...

[jfung79]

Agree on the GL comments. I've also often wondered about GH and the male demo. This isn't some one-week aberration either -- GH is almost always near the bottom in that demo. I think it's because male soap viewers have different tastes from what would be expected of men as a whole, and/or because GH is not going to match primetime in its mob stories no matter how hard it tries so a pale imitation is never going to appeal and win the male viewers who might like primetime mob stories.

Not to be too stereotypical, but a disproportionate number of male soap viewers are gay too, and GH does little to appeal to the gay male audience, unlike the obvious ATWT or the camp sensibility at times (stereotypical again, I know!) of OLTL.

GH is also not particularly elderly-friendly in the stars and stories it features, with veteran characters largely sidelined, and a disproportionate number of male soap viewers are probably older.

[DRW50]

I know what you mean about what draws male viewers in. The straight men I do know who watch soaps tend to be interested in characters like Victor Newman, which is probably one of the reasons EB always wants Victor to be seen as strong. The male characters on GH aren't really that strong, they just pose behind their guns and make sad faces.

I wonder why ATWT and GL do better in the 12-17 demo than several other shows. Maybe their teen characters, I don't know.

I just hope some of the soaps keep going up, I think many of them have turned a corner and I would love to see some of those lost viewers return to the fold.

[rsmith2k2]

[PJA]

As a straight male I would have to say that I enjoy Y&R and B&B the most. They seem the most realistic IMO with their boardroom dramas etc. Also I don't really watch the soaps for romance and the other soaps rely heavily on that factor. On Y&R you will have many characters who are front burner but not in a relationship or if they are, their relationship isn't a major part of the story. Again just my opinion.

[NYC123]

GO AMC!

Always makes me happy when either AMC/OLTL or even both suprass GH. And also glad to see AMC rise from last year.

Why is OLTL so low. UGH! It should be higher then #7.

[CassieFan]

Great for AMC.

If this isn't the sign for ABC to fire Frons and Guza , I don't know what it is...

[rangethatrover]

I have been saying for months that AMC would start doing better in the ratings with Pratt- I only know 3 soap watchers at this point- all 3 are women between 24-35 and all 3 DVR AMC and AMC only.

I don't think it as much ratings growth as the fact that GH has dropped considerably.. and really, the ratings are so close now between all 3 ABC shows. OLTL's total viewers suck though. Its gotta be a real kick in JFP and Guza's stomach to see GH ranked at #5 in a 3 way tie!

OLTL's low ratings in the MAN category surprise me- OLTL seems to be the soap choice of alot of gay men especially.

I don't particularly enjoy OLTL right now, but I think it is the most contemporary soap on the air and it does not surprise me that it has strong ratings in major cities. And OLTL has really gotten some strong, HOT, younger actors now.

Isn't AMC generally #1 in NYC though?? I know they are both really popular but I thought OLTL was generally 2nd. Still cool to see.

And as far as Y&R being the only REAL soap on the air. GMAFB.

[MarkH]

Not in the "demos". So, given that fact, I assume Frons does not care. All it means is that GH is shedding old viewers, and that is what Frons wants.

But, given the creative state of it, doesn't the Days story surprise you? What is the secret of their relative success?

I think you might be right, but I have never seen numbers to back this up. How much more heavily gay is the male soap audience than the population of males in general. (For example, if 10% of the population of males is gay, is 20% of the soap population of male viewers gay?).

In general, I still think there are far more straight male soap viewers. And what they watch is Y&R and B&B. Some of that is the "wife effect". Some of that is the "hot babe" effect (although that is true across daytime). Some of that is the strong-man effect (which explains Y&R's Jack and Victor...but I can't believe a single straight man in the world has a milliliter of interest in Ronn Moss).

Sadly, from Frons' perspective, male viewers are a BAD thing. They want a FOCUSED audience of 18-49 females. So men distract from the "pure" demo they are trying to deliver.

[Rakesh]

Girls 12-17 Viewers

1. ATWT 43,000 (+20,000/-6,000)

2. DAYS 39,000 (+2,000/+14,000)

3. Y&R 38,000 (+10,000/-11,000)

4. GL 36,000 (+28,000/-29,000)

5. B&B 31,000 (+23,000/-12,000)

6. GH 30,000 (-16,000/-11,000)

7. OLTL 29,000 (-6,000/+11,000)

8. AMC 24,000 (same/+13,000)

GL

Monday: 1.9/2,583,000

Tuesday: 1.7/2,218,000

Wednesday: 1.7/2,178,000

Thursday: 1.5/2,066,000

Friday: 1.5/2,016,000

WTG, GL!

[Ann_SS]

As long as GH is pulling strong in the demos, ABC is happy. It is surprising the AMC beat GH is overall viewers, but that might be snow storms at work there.

[alwaysAMC]

Good job AMC!

[JackPeyton]

Honestly, Days on-screen works well. No its not brilliant soap, but its a combo of the stupid [!@#$%^&*] JER brought to it and classic soap - secrets, lies, obsession, affairs - they also really have mixed up the cast and made the show feel like a community. i also like how they focus on an A story with two smaller stories everyday and it changes. The smaller cast and limited sets actually seem to work for them, IMHO.

Its the most consistant from day to day, after Y&R. Every other soaps seems to have great days, bad days, and inbetween days. and on Days - well honestly, everyday is pretty much an OK day. and maybe that OKness is better than going from great to awful every other day?