October 25-29, 2010

[Money]

Bernard reminds me of Easton - huge fanbase that does not translate into ratings. GH needs a complete overhaul starting with the mob. I've always wondered if they killed Sonny, return Jason to a Q, re-establish the Quatermaines, Spencers and Wards and connect characters who are interesting but otherwise don't get a lick of airtime because of the usual airhogs if old viewers will return. The sad thing is that will never happen so all three ABC shows will continue to be interchangeable at the bottom.

[Cyberologist]

Thank you.

[Angela]

B&E were tediously slow and gloomy.

Ditto.

1.(1) Y&R: Monday: 3.7/5,221,000 (+640,000)

2.(2) B&B: Monday: 2.3/3,240,000 (+65,000)

3.(4) OLTL: Monday: 1.9/2,451,000 (+214,000)

4.(6) AMC: Monday: 1.9/2,437,000 (+369,000)

5.(5) GH: Monday: 1.8/2,397,000 (+177,000)

6.(3) DAYS: Monday: 1.8/2,371,000 (-70,000)

1.(1) Y&R: Tuesday: 3.3/4,589,000 (-632,000)

2.(2) B&B: Tuesday: 2.3/3,094,000 (-146,000)

3.(3) OLTL: Tuesday: 1.9/2,600,000 (+149,000)

4.(5) GH: Tuesday: 1.8/2,478,000 (+81,000)

5.(6) DAYS: Tuesday: 1.8/2,472,000 (+101,000)

6.(4) AMC: Tuesday: 1.7/2,342,000 (-95,000)

1.(1) Y&R: Wednesday: 3.5/5,081,000 (+492,000)

2.(2) B&B: Wednesday: 2.4/3,386,000 (+292,000)

3.(5) DAYS: Wednesday: 1.8/2,522,000 (+50,000)

*.(6) AMC: Wednesday: 1.4/1,786,000 (Repeat; DNC)

*.(3) OLTL: Wednesday: 1.2/1,499,000 (Repeat; DNC)

*.(4) GH: Wednesday: 1.2/1,494,000 (Repeat; DNC)

1.(1) Y&R: Thursday: 3.4/4,899,000 (-182,000)

2.(2) B&B: Thursday: 2.0/2,908,000 (-478,000)

3.(3) DAYS: Thursday: 1.7/2,323,000 (-199,000)

4.(*) GH: Thursday: 1.7/2,225,000 (-253,000; from Tuesday)

5.(*) AMC: Thursday: 1.7/2,178,000 (-164,000; from Tuesday)

6.(*) OLTL: Thursday: 1.7/2,158,000 (-442,000)

1.(1) Y&R: Friday: 3.3/4,600,000 (-299,000)

2.(2) B&B: Friday: 2.1/2,912,000 (+4,000)

3.(3) DAYS: Friday: 1.8/2,431,000 (+108,000)

4.(6) OLTL: Friday: 1.6/2,127,000 (-31,000)

5.(5) AMC: Friday: 1.6/2,122,000 (-56,000)

6.(4) GH: Friday: 1.5/2,027,000 (-198,000)

[DRW50]

I think Burton is the biggest problem on GH. Benard at least helped get ratings up when Sonny shot Dante. The writing is what stinks the most for Sonny, and drags his character down. Jason is just a black hole. You can do nothing with him, and Burton barely makes an effort. He also won't ever let them go back to making Jason a Quartermaine, I'm guessing, and there's no point in that now anyway because all of the drama died when AJ and Alan did.

I think they should kill Jason off and spin stories out of that.

[Southofnowhere]

They fired Pratt in order for her to make the move. You kidding yourself if think OLTL won't become Pine Valley part 2.

[Southofnowhere]

OLTL covers GH's overruns. AMC has been a moneypit since JHC tookover. Woman hasn't kept the show on budget once.

[JNewt]

None of the ABC Soaps are going anywhere anytime soon due to ABC owning them. AMC and OLTL are pretty safe due to the fact that they've been kept under-budget especially OLTL which is the cheapest soap on air right now. DAYS is a wait and see game because of Comcast. B&B is the next inline if any soap gets canceled because CBS doesn't own it and its numbers headed to ATWT territory but the difference is that its a Bell soap so its fate will likely keep it on the air somewhere. The soap still does large numbers overseas so the show is making money BUT CBS isn't seeing too much of that money which is the problem. Y&R will be next unless Comcast throws away DAYS.

Somebody mentioned something interesting last week that Y&R might be the answer to either NBC or ABC's problems. Y&R could easily move to a more dedicated soap network when the contract runs out, that will lift those ratings back up and keep them from seeing low 1s like their going to see without it.

[Southofnowhere]

AMC is HUGLEY over budget , they can't even afford to buy deisgner dud for Erica&Greenlee. They're buying off the rack and faking them.

Gl was in last place and is gone , ATWT was in last place and is gone. If AMC stays in last place they will be gone as well.

[Ann_SS]

*thanks, next round is on me."

[Carolyn1980]

Not sure why you think Budig would relocate to NY for OLTL, but wasn't willing for AMC....but I guess we'll see

[JNewt]

AMC is actually more cheaper now than it was last year since they moved to LA and their saving a lot of money on their studio space. GH is the only soap that's hugely over-budgeted at the moment, eventually GH will be going under budget with these kind of ratings. That is funny though AMC's clothes are becoming cheaper. LOL!

Last place doesn't mean anything anymore there's only six of them left anyways, its all about making money from the advertisers and staying over the red. GL and ATWT weren't owned by CBS like AMC is with ABC so CBS really didn't see much profit from GL and ATWT which is the real reason why it was canceled and also the fact that P&G wanted out of the soap business that's not the case with the last six soaps.

[Saving ATWT]

I'm so over all the 'Brand' talk when it comes to soaps. Clearly, AMC is no longer a very strong brand. The show still has strong name recognition but, given the current ratings, that recognition may be negitive and therefore not such a good thing. As an outside example, Harry Reid has strong name recog but almost lost an election. As the World Turns was a strong brand...among 70 year olds.

People don't pay nearly enough attention to the 18-34 demo--it is a strong indicator as to future tends and can tell us a lot about what the next 5 years will look like. Both ATWT and GL consistantly came in last in 18-34 and, today, are gone: This was a really big hint that these shows had become diminished brands, of little relevance, and in need of serious repair. I would argue that OLTL has become a slightly stronger brand, especially among younger viewers, than AMC and ratings back this up week after week. So much work goes into building and maintaining a brand and this is why companies like Tide and McDonalds spend so much on advets and new varieties of product. Television is no different than these other consumer goods and, just because AMC was a powerhouse in the 1990's, doesn't mean anything in the 2010 market. Today's AMC has become dull, lackluster and day by day looses recognition. I would compare AMC to an old Aunt who in her 70's was vital and energetic but today is little more than a crippled empty shell. GL died years before cancellation and the same is also true of All My Children. Pratt, with his many faults, was the shows best hope but it will be down hill from here.

[LeClerc]

The whole reason Frons put JHC at AMC was because he was so impressed with how she was able to produce Port Charles on its tiny budget. I'm sorry but the whole "Julie Carruthers cannot even balance her own checkbook" thing is ridiculous. Is AMC over-budget? Apparently so. But I don't but that the woman whose efficiency Wendy Riche devoted an entire Emmy win speech to whose ability to produce Port Charles on peanuts impressed Frons now apparently can't even add.

At a certain point it becomes practically impossible to stay on budget and I think Frons has slashed AMC to that point. Meanwhile every time I check out GH every couple of months it seems to have all new sets!

[Money]

For me, Jason is a much more viable character than Sonny. Maybe I'm biased since I fondly remember him and Keesha together but Jason Morgan is the staple of everything wrong with GH. I can't give credit to Bernard for that arc because it was so heavily pimped anything but a rating increase would have been a failure. I think once Burton gets material he delivers but he has absolutely nothing to work with. He and Easton have the easiest jobs in the world - blank stares with limited dialogue. But you do have a point, with half the Q's already dead it seems pointless unless they make the last three years someone's dream ala Dallas. *snickers*

[Saving ATWT]

PGP wanted to suck every last drop of profit out of GL/ATWT or, otherwise, these shows would have been sold off to CBS in 2001. Also, America is very different nation, more radical in the extremes, and controversial topics have become off limits for a soap company since 'The Culture Wars'. I really do think the suits at P&G were afraid of product boycotts--'Boycott Procter and Gamble' is still the second most popular search when entering the word boycott into Google Search. PGP did very basic (bad) stories for the final four years and probably used various math formulas to see how long they could bring in revenue via GL and ATWT without making any real sort of splash. The position of the PGP shows was unigue and about the only lession that can be learned from their cancellations may be that an over-focus on history harms demos. GH is in trouble but, by removing huge amounts of history and starting fresh with younger characters, the soap still rocks in demos.