I think that soap genre is dying and we are witnesses to its death. There is no turning back now. Nothing can be done to reverse the unhappy trend. I only wish these soaps would go out with some dignity. Write with vision, passion and love. Give us love in the afternoon, wonderful romances with classic villians on the prowl. It can't hurt to give us all some memories to cherish instead of writing unforgettable dribble.

Per Ed Scott

"It's proof a show can turn around in these difficult times, a soap can be saved," Scott says. "There needs to be leadership, drive, positive energy and a respect for the audience—but that's nothing new. It's old-school stuff. Of course, you don't have all the time in the world. You need to work hard and work fast."

Wasn't the magic number GL needed to achieve and maintain to avoid cancellation a 1.8?

Edited June 26, 200916 yr by rhinohide

Well if the networks want higher ratings, just don't air their shows on SoapNet or online. But that's not going to happen in this day in age.

What do they want? People to watch on the network? To watch on SoapNet? To watch online?

I totally agree---I'll be curious to see what the SoapNet ratings for June are. It seems that while ABC has stayed on the 1.8-2.0 range, they've had growning numbers on SoapNet. It would be interesting to see what they look at.

So you think these ratings are low because people are watching online and on SN?

It's certainly not the only reason why network ratings are low. I do think the ratings would be a bit if people only had one outlet to watch their soaps.

What was the last ratings report for Y&R on Soapnet? They had 700,000 Viewers (or was that 700,000 18-49 viewers)? Just half of that is a lot! Then say add half of the online views. It adds up.

Also, another key factor is there hardly any more....umm....I don't know the word for it...."breeding" (??) of viewers anymore. People use to watch soaps with their parents and grandparents and that doesn't happen anymore.

1. Y&R 3.4/11 (same/same) <--- ties low (Last time: June 8-12, 2009)

2. B&B 2.3/7 (+.1/-.2)

3. DAYS 2.0/6 (-.1/+.1)

4. AMC 1.8/6 (same/-.2) <----- ties low (Last time: June 8-12, 2009)

4. OLTL 1.8/6 (same/-.3) <---- ties low (Last time: June 8-12, 2009)

4. GH 1.8/5 (-.1/-.4) <------- ties low (Last time: April 20-24, 2009)

7. ATWT 1.6/5 (same/-.3) <---- ties low (Last time: June 8-12, 2009)

8. GL 1.3/4 (same/-.3) <------ ties low (Last time: June 8-12, 2009)

Is it me or is every shows share down?

All 3 ABC shows suck.

Beth Ehlers said recently that Pratt's used to writing for one episode, and that these days the actors go from script to script, and don't know what their character will do next so it's hard to prepare for that.

Oye vey you'd think after a year as HW he'd be used to writing for a SOAP OPERA

Don't get that because Mr.Pratt has been writing for soaps for many years.

Mr.Pratt porblem is he isn't writing for AMC he's trying to make a whole new show.

Has ABC done it's regular press release? Apparently Days was preempted quite a bit last week and another soap or two might have had that experience. I'm in Canada so we get it whether it's preempted in the US or not.

Don't get that because Mr.Pratt has been writing for soaps for many years.

Mr.Pratt porblem is he isn't writing for AMC he's trying to make a whole new show.

I feel the same way about RC at OLTL. Who ARE these people on my screen? Just change the name and call it something else, because it's not One Life to Live anymore.

I don't watch GH so I'm curious -- why the big nosedive that week?

i knew days would fall.

it was pre-empted twice here.

next week will also be down, same thing.

and the following weeks ratings will opnl have three episodes.

I don't watch GH so I'm curious -- why the big nosedive that week?

I honestly do not have a clue. GH is not good, but it isn't horrifically bad, just bad which is has been for years. Nothing out of the ordinary happened last week on the show. It may be a random fluctuation caused by unidentified external events or it could be that a large numbers of viewers decided that they had better things to do with their lives than watch GH.

Don't get that because Mr.Pratt has been writing for soaps for many years.

Mr.Pratt's problem is he isn't writing for AMC he's trying to make a whole new show.

I agree. I don't think his writing style fits the AMC I've known and loved for years.

Thanks Toups for posting.

You'd think with school out the numbers would be creeping up instead of plummeting. Is there any way to stop the bleeding?

I don't watch GH so I'm curious -- why the big nosedive that week?

It is rather odd. They have improved in a lot of key areas and it's been noticed. Arguably they have a long way to go, but that 1.6 was really off the scale especially since Friday was up again. This is why I want to see the press release... I know it will be spin but it might shed some light on it. Nothing big was happening storyline wise.

Jasam was on Monday and Tuesday.

I'm not surprised about DAYS, they had a big week storywise and that had to have a falloff.

B&B never seems to stay down for too long. I'm disappointed about Y&R because I was hoping they'd go up with the focus on Nina/Kay/Jill last week. I hope this won't give them any idea about this story being a weak point.

As for GH, in the past few weeks, viewers have seen one of the most disgusting pairings in recent memory (Rebecca/Ethan) and seen the skincrawling Rebecca/Nikolas "romance". I can't remember if these ratings are for when he had her put on the dress his wife was murdered in and then humped her, but if it was, that alone cost some numbers. Their other big stories are about Sonny/Claudia and Sonny's nasty children. I can also imagine that a number of female viewers who had been hanging on by a thread tuned out after Michael woke up from his coma tuned out when they learned he was (surprise surprise) a raging woman-hater who verbally and physically attacks his mother, worships his thug father, and wants to join the mob.