December 7-11, 2009

[bellcurve]

The Tonight Show is already seeing record ratings lows. Lows that haven't been seen in over 13 years.

NBC really f*cked up when they didn't pick Letterman to take over for Carson.

[Soapsuds]

Yes it is ironic isn't it?? I am done with CBS daytime after ATWT is gone. I havent watched Y&R and dont have a clue what's going on. The same for B&B.

[JaneAusten]

I;m no Leno fan but I thought his numbers were actually decent during his Tonight show tenure. I always felt they didn't pick Letterman because they didn't see him as mainsteam enough. Well as you say, Letterman has and has had the last laugh for sometime now.

[jpoliver78]

NBC definitely cares about their local affiliates, even Jeff Zucker isn't stupid enough to disregard them. The late local news is a major deal for many affiliates, especially in larger cities. In some cases, the late local news ratings can make the difference between an affiliate making a profit or not.

NBC signed a contract with Jay Leno for at least one year, so the network is contractually obligated to air his show. The real test will come in May 2010 when NBC announces whether or not Leno will be back for another year.

If any series is safe on NBC, it is "The Tonight Show". NBC would simply dump Conan and bring on a new host. "The Tonight Show" will probably outlive everyone on this board.

[JaneAusten]

But is Conan really the problem or is it competition from his own network in Jay Leno. I don't have any clue who they'd get to pit up against Letterman at this point.

Jeff Zucker? I still don't get it. Did they really believe Leno would be a ratings bonanza. But late local news numbers have also been dropping for years so who knows.

I guess this convo belongs elsewhere than in the daytime ratings thead.

[jpoliver78]

Not to get sidetracked talking about late night, but I personally think Conan is the problem. He is drawing, literally, half the viewers that Jay Leno did during his "Tonight Show" stint.

Right now, I don't know who NBC could get to challenge Letterman (who is reportedly grooming "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart as his successor).

As far as Jeff Zucker goes, trying to understand him is an exercise in futility. He is probably the only person who believed "The Jay Leno Show" would work (at least on a 5-day a week basis), everyone else predicted doom and gloom (and are largely correct). Personally, I think the whole Leno fiasco was a band-aid for NBC. Zucker and Co. hoped that by signing over the 10 p.m. hour to Leno, the network could concentrate on building up its 8:00 and 9:00 series and concentrate on 10:00 in 2010 or 2011. That's just my own (un)educated guess.

[dragonflies]

I read that OLTL IS Moving into the AMC studios, but not till February, it's because of union regulations? Anyone know if this is true or not

Ouch, damn OLTL, what happened for it to drop in the demos like that?

It seems to be too much of a coincidence that AMC's ratings started going UP once news that Pratt was fired broke

[marceline]

And the implosion of OLTL continues. If only they had more promotion.

[DRW50]

They were steady before that, but yes, they did go up since then. Let's just say it's his firing, whether it is or not.

NBC probably believes no matter how low Leno goes, it is still cheaper than 5 dramas in that timeslot. That may be true, but if the local affiliates are being hurt, and their late night shows are being hurt, then it's just further tarnishing the NBC brand and profit margins. At this point their most successful show is Biggest Loser. I almost wonder if that might keep DAYS around a bit longer, since that's some synergy, with Ali Sweeney being on both shows. Then again, they might think that doesn't matter.

[marceline]

So how is LMAD doing?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I don't know what the hell happened on Y&R to cause it to go up, the show put me to sleep most of last week.

[miche]

According to Steve Burton they don't gave a s*** about ratings as long as they are 1 or 2 in 18-49 demos.

[LoyaltoAMC]

I wouldn't write off OLTL just yet. That 3-hour block has been around for over 30 years. It's very important to ABC and I don't think they're ready to throw in the towel just yet. Every show goes through peaks and valleys in terms of creativity and ratings. Ron and Frank seem like pretty smart guys. I think all it will take is a shift in some of the stories, maybe a little retooling, to get the numbers back up. I still think the show has life left in it. Does Days air opposite OLTL in some markets? Days has been on an upswing, and maybe it's been getting some of the OLTL viewers.

As for Days going to CBS, I don't see that happening. Historically shows that have switched networks have not done well on the new network (Search, Edge). Also, I don't think Days is compatible with Y&R and B&B. They appeal to a much older demographic, while Days's core audience is much younger. I don't think that bringing Days to CBS would necessarily help Y&R and B&B appeal to the younger crowd. And there's always the danger of Y&R and B&B focusing much more heavily on the younger characters at the expense of the vets in order to be more compatible with Days. It just wouldn't seem like a good fit to me.

[Ann_SS]

Even if Burton said this, I seriously doubt that this true.

[LoyaltoAMC]

Jill Phelps has said it too. Obviously they don't want a 0.5 in total viewers, but it really is the demos that count for ABC. The 18-49s, and even better, the 18-34s, are all the advertisers care about.