December 14-18, 2009

[jfung79]

ATWT at #5 in total viewers, and also the third week in a row with a 1.0 in W 18-49! Do you really want to lose this for the super low demos of game shows, CBS?

[Chris B]

Wow. If ATWt was promoted the ratings are showing that there is still life into the show. It still looks great too. So sad. I'm shocked that Y&R didn't hit a record low. You mean it's gon lower than 4.6 mil? That's sick! I can't believe that's what they got. The end could come much sooner if this continues.

[Toups]

Y&R's lowest was 4,603,000.

I think Y&R will be on the air until the show hits 1.0-1.1 consistently in 18-49 demos. If you assume the show will lose .1 (in average) every year, Y&R's projection end year will be in 2016-2017.

I'm not too worried by the 400,000 drop. When there's a drop that big it means there must've been an outage or pre-emptions during Y&R's timeslot and where the show is heavily watched.

[Ann_SS]

ITA re: Y&R's demos decline. CBS cancelled both ATWT and GL when their 18-49 demo was stuck at .9 to 1.0. What do you think the ABC soaps will have to hit regularly in 18-49 demos before they are cancelled? I would think that they have more leeway since ABC owns their soaps.

[Cyberologist]

I agree in that I've tuned out and am soley on a clips basis on GH. Many of my favs have been written just horridly these past 6 months...I was hoping Franco's storyline to be a hit only because of the attention he gave to a dying genre. I hoped it would help not hinder.

I'm just not interested in seeing anymore of my favs trashed. Alexis/Kate/Robin nearly everybody I like gets the treatment either bad stories or little airtime. I know soaps are about falling down and getting back up (redemption) only some never get redeemed.

I hoped to see the super-couple of old but they refuse to cash in on some happy time for a minute to reel their fans in.... Jonathan's Lucky/Elizabeth have fans I post with who've waited ten years (never thought he'd return)

Like Laura and so many others who return their fans tune in just to witness more of their history trashed. The V-Day is important LnL2 history and Guza torpedoed it like he does every iconic bond. I have to say I'm glad they got what they deserved re: this a #6. Many of us didn't interepret the scene as others did but I respect other's opinions. Even though her day on with Nik gained (+217,000) but I guess that Friday things dropped off w/the Rebecca/rape dialog.

...I know her fans didn't like, she may not have liked it because she asked her fans what they think about the storyline early on when it first started but Guza writes the show.

As for Jason his highly publicized/promo/publicity stunted 3 year wait for Steve Burton to take off his shirt garnered a 1.7. Fans weren't interested then and that's pre-Franco.

I just think many of his fans (I post with) aren't interested in the writing of his character he's been firmly attached at the hip in an unprecedented amount of screen time (nearly every eppy) in his pairing he rarely has scenes alone where he's not teamed up somewhere in the eppy...

they were still in the onesies and has been (for the most part) for well over a year I thought that is why Franco showed up to help him along since he is soley for Jason Morgan.

...He seems to garner better some days when he's unstuck but even alone he's been as low as 1.6, 1.8 I just think Jason has fans outside of his pairing who aren't interested in his storyline. He does have a large fanbase "who are not couple driven" and don't like how "he's" been written which has been against the grain (for me) in many respects. They've tuned out.

His storyline is pretty much the same ole same they're old. Perils of Pauline tied up on a train track and here I come to save the day...or blubbering about Michael.

[JaneAusten]

I am still amazed at how many thought Franco was the end all be all. And I am really not sure any of it has to do with the story he's in. People tuned out or haven't tuned in since the first day he appeared. I just don't think Franco is as popular or "mainstream" enough to captivate viewers. Is he Julia Roberts or George Clooney or Will Smith. Yeah he's a good actor but really does it matter? DeNiro is a great actor and I never saw him outdraw a Tom Cruise or Redford at the box office.

And Jason and Sam? They should have kept GV and explored Sam and Lucky and let Jason and Liz do whatever. Let them have their alleged epic romance. I see all the romances on this show and nothing is original. It's sad when just a few years ago this show actually had some nice pairings. Heck I even liked Jax and Courtney and Ric and Alexis. Now nada.

You mean the other well publicized event, JJ's return. As far as I'm concerned they fired GV for no reason at all. What was the point of bringing JJ back to the same nonsense they gave GV. And who in their right mind thought viewers would want to see Liz cheat, lie, and crap all over Lucky yet again, not even 2 years from the last time or see Nikolas get yet another women by cheating and crapping all over yet another popular character(ie; Zander, Jax) again. I don't care how "popular" all these characters allegedly are. I think with JJ's return, many thought it would be a return to a time when the show brought back fond memories not ugliness. It's SSDD for this show. No wonder viewers ain't tuning back in in droves.

Well OLTL and AMC are regularly in those numbers already and we know AMC was close to cancellation at one time and OLTL who knows. I think if ABC could bottle up another "THe View" and air it and get decent numbers all 3 would be gone. I think their longevity is dictated based on when the new great daytime replacement is found. The fact that they own them will potentially keep them around longer. CBS doesn't have the same vested interest that ABC does.

[Ann_SS]

You are probably right that replacement programming will dictate the fates of the ABC soaps. However, I think at some point the costs of the soaps and low ad revenues will have to force ABC to make a decision about cancellation.

I have to say that I'm not convinced that any of the reuniting of couples or stories suggested would solve GH's woes. Fanbases may want certain couples together, but that doesn't mean that ratings are going to be the result if they get their way. GH has more insidious problems than Franco's stint or Lucky and Liz or Jason and Sam, etc.

[JaneAusten]

They have to be close to that now. At least AMC and OLTL. AMC moving to LA we all know is an effort to save the show. I just wonder what will happen when ratings or demos for AMC continue to be where they are now? And how much time is the move buying AMC when the ratings don't turn around. 2 more years maybe? Because I sadly while I dislike Pratt, I just don't see changing HW's at the show mattering at this point. It hasn't done anything for OLTL.

It's odd. I wonder why none of the networks have gone the TNT route and started airing reruns, especially with how heavily TNT has drawn in L&O viewers.

As far as pairings IA. But JJ's return? Well I have to believe that those excited about him coming back(and I was not one) were looking forward to more Spencer time and more Lucky and Liz, reminiscent of a time when the show was actually still good and fairly well written and most importantly, still filled with heart.

[marceline]

I wonder about that too. It would cost them nothing. They wouldn't even have to show dramas. ABC would probably do fine with episodes of Roseanne, Doogie Howser and the Wonder Years.

[Ann_SS]

It possible that there is an overestimation of the audience interest in JJ's return to GH. Yes, there was a lot of online buzz for his return, but there was also tons of buzz for Franco's arrival. The demos increase that occurred the week that JJ returned could have been merely be a random fluctuation rather than a response to the promos. Even if was the viewers responding to the promos and buzz, I'm not convinced that if Lucky and Liz were lovey dovey that the viewers would have stayed. Like most other soaps, GH has highs, but ultimately the ratings return to their lows and continue to trend downwards. What Days is doing in phenomenal and very difficult for other soaps to replicate.

ABC might be concerned about older demos and losing its share in the larger media markets. Despite the lower ratings, the last breakdown I saw, the ABC soaps do very well in the big media markets on the northeast which must allow them to charge more for for commercial time.

[JaneAusten]

I don't understand why no other shows are doing what Days did or at least trying to. Maybe they just can't replicate it or maybe they don't care enough(like Proctor and Gamble and CBS) or maybe the upward fluctuations they get from big events or cast stunts(GH and AMC) are adequate enough to sustain them as long as necessary.

Of course following a Days model would be firing some longtime favorites, cutting all salaries by 40%, and other budget cutting. Perhaps no one is brave enough to deal with possible fallout. There's no guarantee that if a Y&R or AMC or GH did what Days did, they'd have similar success.

[Soapsuds]

Yeah imagine that...promoting your daytime lineup..CBS doesnt have a clue. Off topic but when will Les M. fire all the people associated with the Morning Show?? The show still ranks dead last(2.2 rating....GMA...3.6...Today Show....4.4) and has dreadful 18-49 demos. Maybe the Morning show should be cancelled for game shows in those two hours. What you think Leslie.....??

ATWT still has life in it. I pray we get a Christmas Miracle and some other network picks it up. I know its highly unlikely..but oh well...I can hope.

[Soapsuds]

Don't soaps usually drop the week before Christmas?? A 400,000 drop looks bad. ATWT had the lowest drop with only 51,000. Weird how some shows had much bigger drops but didnt go down in HHs but ATWT did.

[miche]

It would not matter if Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Will Smith was on GH, they would have done s*** for the rating b/c GH is s*** and not the kind that people can watch and make fun of.

[DRW50]

I think with the proper writing, JJ's return could have brought a small but sustained increase. Franco is someone who had no ties to GH and whose fans likely have no interest in GH, but JJ was someone who meant a lot to many viewers who probably no longer watch the show. His return was botched so quickly, it just reminded them why they stopped watching. Obviously Luza decided, "Hey, let's make everyone like Lucky again by showing them what a whore Liz is!" Not realizing that she was part of the reason why JJ was popular. Not just because of the Cowboy nonsense that looks pathetic ten years on.