June 7-11, 2010

[EastMA2]

I agree with you Monty. There is no way ratings will ever get back to 1999, or even earlier, levels even if the soaps got storytelling back to their glory days. 500+ channels, youtube, soapnet - which I know is going away - but it provided another avenue to watch these shows - people have moved on. My 18 year old niece loved soaps a year ago, but then got into Facebook bigtime and someting had to give - she couldn't do both so Facebook won out. Technology is killing the soaps even more than show runners, writers and networks.

[DRW50]

If it were just technology than the declines would have been more severe in eras when people started having more and more to do outside the home, or when VCRs first arrived. Ratings held relatively steady up to the early 90s, which is when soaps became even more desperate to alienate their longtime viewers to chase youth demos. That's when the freefall began. Soaps don't give people a reason to keep watching. Technology hasn't suddenly made a big lurch forward in the past few years yet some of the shows still had sudden ratings drops. I think people just hang on and then can't take any more.

[Soapsuds]

:unsure:When are the rest of the ratings going to be posted??

[MontyB]

If it's not technology and the plethora of options, how do you explain sharp decline in Primetime ratings?

[DRW50]

Primetime still has big ratings when they make the effort. No network is going to get what they got before cable became popular but cable hasn't decimated the main networks outright. On nights when a show is interesting enough to people, American Idol will get 20 million and NCIS running in a rival timeslot will get 15+ million.

[quartermainefan]

But Carl, people may not realize it but technology has taken huge leaps just the last few years. It wasn't that long ago streaming video online in HD didn't exist. Now you don't need to go home to watch Tiger Woods play golf, the tournament will stream it live to your PC. You never really have to turn on ABC again while traveling, because your iPad comes with a built in ABC player that will literally play GH and Desperate Housewives in your lap. I used to watch old reruns on WPIX in NY. Well, WPIX is crap these days, so when I want to watch an old episode of Star Trek or whatever I go to the official Star Trek channel on youtube and watch with limited commercial interruption. In the 90s none of this existed. There wasn't even digital cable with the 500 channels then, I think I had 80, 70 of which I never watched. The last few years has been huge for technology with regard to video, which is why Blockbuster, Tower Video and the Virgin Megastore are all gone.

[AS THE WORLD TURNS]

Blockbuster is not gone.

[quartermainefan]

They are closing stores left and right. They are in the middle of a total collapse.

[DRW50]

Yes but none of this has caused any major defections in ratings. Primetime is about where it was a few years ago, if not higher.

Besides, there's a good chance that within the next few years, the ISPs are going to start charging for how much bandwidth you use, and a large number of those who currently enjoy streaming video and Youtube are going to start watching less and less if it means paying big money.

[MontyB]

No offense, but that is absolutely not true. Check out the website TVbythenumbers.

[DRW50]

The ratings for awards shows and sporting events are up from recent years. The shows which are aging get less viewers but other shows like NCIS or Big Bang Theory have increased in viewers.

I haven't seen any big drop. If there's any drop it's that some shows get older and nothing has replaced them in being interesting.

[Jonathan]

Well Jamanda brought in some viewers.

[NYC123]

Though OLTL may bring in more viewers in the demos it has also lost more then any ABC soap.

Good for AMC being the top rated soap. I thought it was good last week.

Also glad to see a little bump for ATWT

[AllMyDaysatGH]

Glad to see AMC gain viewers, and be above the other two ABC soaps, where IMO, it belongs! Go AMC!

[Ann_SS]

I don't understand the praise for AMC. Any overall ratings gain is erased by the terrible 18-49 women demos. Same goes for B&B and ATWT is even worse. Frankly, I don't know how any of these soaps other Y&R are managing to stay on the air with those demos, summer or not. I have to think that another round of budget cuts is coming for the lot of them.