June 6-10, 2011

[JaneAusten]

I could have sworn that Bradley Bell already said they need CBS to sustain the show that strictly international viewing wouldn't cut it. That said, could another network(cable pick up B&B for less money and the show still survive? No clue

[JaneAusten]

Ok misunderstood and I am not even say the wrong soap is being cancelled. To me ratings wise all 3 shows are comparable and one is no deserving more than any other including the one that hasn't "officially" been cancelled yet.

[LoyaltoAMC]

Brad Bell has said that the numbers overseas mean absolutely nothing. I think Y&R and B&B took a hit after ATWT's cancellation. That, combined with the natural decline in numbers in general, are probably the reason for the falling ratings--even more so than whether or not the stories are any good. And B&B's fortunes have always seemed to be tied to Y&R's.

[marceline]

Yeah, that's what I meant. At this point they might do well to dub it into Spanish and drop it on Telemundo. LOL!

It's just shame that when foreign soaps are doing so well and even US soaps are doing well in other countries the genre is dying here.

[JaneAusten]

Wasn't Santa Barbara an international hit and went kaput when cancelled here?

I would love to know what Telemundo is doing or that Univision is now started a network that is going to be geared 100 percent to soaps but the people here can;t figure out what to do or more like they don't care.

[CCCapwell]

It sure was. SB owners New World Television searched for a new network when NBC canceled it in 1992, that failed. There was

even reports a year later New World was considering reviving SB because of just how much international money SB made, but FOX

came along and purchased New World, so with a take over like that, reviving SB wasn't on FOX's do to list, too bad as the FOX

network would have done well to revive SB.

[edgeofnik]

ITA regarding the ATWT comment. I'm convinced that B&B benefited from early tune in or that ATWT fans might watch "a block". Even if 25% of ATWT audience tuned in (or tuned in early), that's enough make the difference. Also, B&B only airs after Y&R in 50% of the country, so it now is a total lone wolf without ATWT. I doubt "The Talk" viewers are interested in B&B.

[Toups]

Got the ratings.....they'll be up soon. Good week for OLTL - they finally beat GH in 18-49 Viewers. GH once again last in Viewers.

[taylormade]

Thanks, Toups.

[Carolyn1980]

GH missed a 0.9 18-49 rating by ONE thousand. Yikes.

363,000-428,000-----------> .06

429,000-488,000-----------> .07

489,000-561,000-----------> .08

562,000-627,000-----------> .09

628,000-693,000-----------> 1.0

694,000-758,000-----------> 1.1

759,000-825,000-----------> 1.2

[jpoliver78]

Personally, I think the appeal of the Spanish-language telenovelas is the fact that they have a clear beginning and an end...as they only last about six months. When one telenovela ends, another one takes its place.

The GH spin-off "Port Charles" attempted something similar before it was canceled, and I believe that the other soaps could implement something similar to the telenovela format. Look at how long some soaps (especially "Days" during its unfortunate James E. Reilly era) take to tell a story...years and years. Audiences don't have the patience to watch a storyline unfold over a period of years, which is one reason why people quit watching...they get tired of being jerked around and waiting too long for a resolution.

[Toups]

I disagree with this. I think it's the short term stories that don't work. Long term stories that takes years to tell is what works best, imo. Since you mentioned the Reilly era, go look at the ratings from 1993-1997 - long term stories worked.

[OLTL_fan]

Poor GH. I feel bad for the show and the cast, not for Guza, Frons, & Phelps. Ouch below 2 million on Friday. I do not believe that has ever happened before.

I thought DAYS was good last week. I enjoyed the Taylor & Nicole fight.

[DRW50]

I agree. Besides, how many soap stories in recent years have really been long, long sagas? If anything soaps have moved more and more towards stories which have no structure whatsoever - they are made up as they go along and they never have a good ending or followup.

I don't think viewers have any less patience than they did 10 or 20 years ago. Perhaps they do for news, but not necessarily drama.

I think the telenovela format is very unique and any attempts to duplicate it would be a struggle.

[marceline]

I think its a matter of preference. Long term stories work if you don't twist up the history but soaps no longer respect their own history or the audience's memory. Plus it depends on the type of story you want to tell. Look at how many shows cram a ton of storytelling into pretty short seasons. True Blood, Pretty Little Liars to name two.