May 30 - June 3, 2011

[Soapsuds]

I actually think the replacements will be slightly lower and the demos too. I mean look at the lineup now. 1.7s across the board except for OLTL. I see those shows getting a 1.5 rating with .7 demos or so.

[DRW50]

I think the demos for the CBS replacements are lower in 18-49 than ATWT and GL.

Ultimately if it's about cheapness then the cheapest solution of all will be giving up those timeslots altogether. I think that's what ABC is moving towards.

[marceline]

I found it very telling that the most recent episode of ABC's 20/20 focused exclusively on reality television. They claimed they were examining the impact of the genre on pop culture but to me it just seemed like they were re-branding ABC as your reality tv network. It was pathetic to see a so-called news show do that.

[Soapsuds]

I wonder what the ratings are for The Talk. There hasnt been anymore hoopla about their ratings.

[DRW50]

It seems to have fallen into the same no man's land that LMAD is in. The last I heard they had just lost another EP.

marceline, it doesn't help that generally ABC is pretty bad at producing reality shows. Their only hits have been DWTS and the various incarnations of The Bachelor. The rest has been close to trainwreck (remember Are You Hot?).

[Cyberologist]

Unfortunately IMO of course GH can't be a real soap opera for one, they can't break up a couple for a good story (drama)

as soon as they do the fangurls whine bitch and moan...its hard to have pure soap when couples are safe and ironclad..while other

characters get hacked away, clubbed to death taking hit after hit. Everytime there's a triangle its pretty much the same characters unless its like Jax now (because the character is leaving)...I'm not surprised GH is last I expected it sooner. The storytelling is (misogynistic) and horrendous Guza should have been gone years ago...now its too late.

Now that Carlivati is on maybe something can seem different for me instead of the same formula style storytelling.

[DRW50]

I would expect a lot of shirtless rapists.

[jpoliver78]

I posted these items over at the "Tomlin Fired" and "Francisco San Martin Fired" threads, but they can also apply here...as one or both may effect the ratings.

I wonder if NBC has privately told Ken Corday that "Days" needs to shape or the network will ship it out when its contract ends in September 2013? There has been an awful lot of activity...Head Writer Dena Higley was fired, then "big name" cast members like Louise Sorel and Crystal Chappel are sent packing, and now Gary Tomlin is fired as co-executive producer. That's a lot of change in just a short amount of time.

I'm not really sad to see Francisco San Martin (Dario) go...he's not a bad actor, he's just stuck in a bad character. Other than his love-hate relationship with Melanie, he didn't have much to do...which begs the question, why introduce him at all? I had hoped when San Martin first appeared, that he would be the character to "turn" Will Horton gay. That would have been an interesting plot...having Will fall for his girlfriend's ne'er do well brother. In addition, the soap could actually put the focus on its Hispanic family - the Hernandez's - since, for the most part, homosexuality is still considered a taboo topic among that ethnic group. Instead, Dario started to make puppy dog eyes at Melanie and the will-they-won't-they banter soon started. Dario was such a wasted opportunity...I wish San Martin luck at finding future, more challenging, roles.

[Soapsuds]

Hmmm...interesting

Days will be gone in Sept 2013 whether the show gets in shape or not.

[JaneAusten]

I keep thinking Corday got some kind of wakeup call from NBC because they threatened to pull it sooner if they didn't see some improvement. I don't

buy for a second Corday fired Higley because all of a sudden the show has been performing badly. Its been trending downward for a year.

He's taking action now and assuring viewers trying to keep people engaged over the summer so they don't abandon the show with the expectation

come Sept there will be huge changes. Interviews, and massive firings and large impact returns. I think he thought this book tour was going

to keep fans interested and it hasn't. And Comcast has no love for soaps. But pairing DOOL down to 15 cast members could position the show

for syndication perhaps if it becomes even less costly who knows.

[JaneAusten]

Carlivati is coming in as a script writer. I assume his joining GH is more about the fact he is still under an active contract and perhaps

Frons wanting to keep him because other shows are interested. No clue. IF they have to pay him anyway they might as well use him and they

could probably dump one of their current writers.

AS for GH worrying about fanbases, if thats the case thats pretty pathetic that they run their show catering to fanbases versus telling good story. Not shocking at all.

[jpoliver78]

This is what I took away from Anne Sweeney's comments about treating daytime like primetime...Canceling series and changing time slots should not be treated as an unusual event.

That is what I meant with the comment about those short-lived game shows and soaps from the 1950s to 1980s. If a soap or game show failed to meet expectations, they were yanked from the schedule. NBC, due to its historical third place finish in daytime, is the worst offender. For the most part, ABC's soap schedule has been unchanged for thirty years...only the 12:30 p.m. time slot seems to have undergone radical change ("Ryan's Hope", "Loving", "The City", "Port Charles" and finally given back to affiliates).

[DRW50]

I see what you mean now. I think the difference then and now is quality of product; it's usually just pabulum and replaced by pabulum. Like ABC's primetime lineup. There are also some schedule changes I haven't ever understood, like the long breaks they had with Flash Forward and V which basically guaranteed the shows would have no ratings recovery.

If ABC were replacing their soaps with something unique then I'd be more inclined to support it, but instead it's just a rehash.

[Scotty]

That's one thing I love about you Angela.....your ability to make a depressing situation even more sad (I mean the first part of your comment).

[GregNYC]

http://www.businessinsider.com/talk-cbs-leah-remini-sharon-osbourne-kelly-osbourne-les-moonves-julie-chen-2011-5

CBS just announced that they delivered a 40 percent sweeps rating increase over the network's same programming last year (which, by the way, was the soap opera "As The World Turns").

That's pretty impressive just from a numbers standpoint. Factor in the tailored-to-moms vibe, and you've got a solid ad-sales pitch.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/05/26/the-talk-delivers-impressive-time-period-growth-among-women-25-54-on-cbs-owned-stations-in-may-sweep/94009/

“The Talk” DELIVERS IMPRESSIVE TIME-PERIOD GROWTH AMONG WOMEN 25-54 ON CBS-OWNED STATIONS IN MAY SWEEP

CBS’s Daytime Talk Show Is Up +40% in Women 25-54 on CBS-Owned Stations Compared to Last May

CBS Stations in Sacramento, Chicago, Denver and New York Post Largest

Year-to-Year Time-Period Growth

The Talk, CBS’s new daytime talk show, delivered impressive time-period growth among women 25-54 on CBS-owned stations during the recently concluded May sweep, according to Nielsen live plus same day metered market ratings for the period of April 28-May 25.

On the 14 CBS-owned stations, The Talk improved the year-ago time period among women 25-54 by +40% (0.7 from 0.5).

Among the CBS stations seeing the biggest year-to-year increases in women 25-54 were KOVR, Sacramento (up +900%); WBBM, Chicago (up +200%); KCNC, Denver (up +100%); WCBS, New York (up +80%); and KPIX, San Francisco (up +67%).

Other CBS Stations posting May-May time period gains were KDKA, Pittsburgh (up +56%); WWJ, Detroit (up +33%); and WFOR, Miami (up +20%).