March 30 - April 3, 2009

[Scotty]

Dang....Wheel of Fortune with a 7.2, and Jeopardy! with a 5.8?

That's just crazy.

[MarkH]

They get the early-prime slots (7, 7:30 in the eastern markets).

That is the time slot for soaps in many other countries...e.g., UK with its Corrie/Eastenders juggernauts.

Question: Could soaps pull Jeopary-style numbers if they had early prime?

Possible answer: Yes. Look at the primetime numbers Soapnet pulls in early-prime and prime. Those numbers (for Y&R, AMC and OLTL) are the best numbers that the cable net gets, and often amount to more than 10% of the audience that the Big Three get for comparable shows.

Translation: If a well distributed basic cable net (not Soapnet, which gets relegated to the $ digital tier for many viewers) aired first-run soaps in early prime, coupled with lots of promotion to announce it, I think the soaps could grow.

Are you listening, Lifetime?

[CSF]

Do you know the numbers the soaps get each weeknight on SoapNet? I'd be interested in seeing them.

[MarkH]

Yup...they just got posted...lemme see:

First this one:

Second, this one:

[Scotty]

I agree....CBS has just never had the success with their morning shows the way ABC and NBC have. While GMA and Today keep rolling along, CBS seems to revamp the TES show every two or three years to try to keep up. However, they always come in dead last.