Ratings from the 70's

[JAS0N47]

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 3/11/74-3/15/74 & 3/18/74-3/22/74:

Please register in order to view this content

[yrfan1983]

The thing to remember about YR's early days is that it was hobbled a few months after its March '73 debut by the writer's strike and many Watergate pre-emptions.

[JAS0N47]

The "Days" scripts affected by the 1973 WGA strike were # 1895 to # 1950 (taping 4/30/73-7/31/73; airing 5/14/73-8/24/73), so it should be comparable dates for YR.

Edited January 3 by JAS0N47

[Contessa Donatella]

When was it when CBS made Bill Bell take Y&R to an hour? 

[JoeCool]

Feb. 1980 is when Restless went to 60 minutes. Decision was made in Spring 1979 around the time of CBS Annual meeting with its affiliates about the upcoming TV season.

Edited January 3 by JoeCool

[Khan]

And IIRC, Bill Bell ultimately had no say in the matter: "Y&R is expanding, with OR without you."

[Contessa Donatella]

Exactly so. I have always said that ABC with Agnes, used the carrot, but at CBS on Bill, they definitely used the stick.

[kalbir]

@JoeCool @Khan As we've seen in this thread and the 1980s ratings thread, 1979 Y&R was challenging General Hospital and All My Children for #1 but the expansion derailed all the momentum. Y&R doesn't rebound from its post-expansion slump until the second half of 1982 and we know the rest.

Edited January 3 by kalbir

[Contessa Donatella]

What am I? chopped liver?

And, according to Bell, it lost the show 3 full ratings points & it took them 3 years to get back what they'd lost.

[kalbir]

No. My earlier post was to address the two comments.

[Contessa Donatella]

And my point was that it was JoeCool & I who began talking about it. But I meant this to be funny. If we're not chuckling, then just skip it.

Edited January 3 by Contessa Donatella
more

[kalbir]

I figured that. We're good, no worries.

[will81]

Also it has one of the lowest station clearances on the chart. I think quite a number of stations took on the show around Jan 1974, so it was likely lower in 1973 than what we see here.

I believe this is what Fred Silverman said to Bill Bell in 1973 when he panicked a bit about the ratings. Fred knew the clearances weren't there yet and apologised to him for not clearing the show in enough markets but felt confident they would get there eventually. 

It was Screen Gems (Or at least one exec) that was making a big deal of the ratings and likely influenced Bell's mind about it until he spoke to Silverman. 

[Paul Raven]

Y&R was up against Jeopardy and Password for all of 73. In Jan 74 NBC moved Jeopardy to 10.30 and replaced it with Jackpot.

That may have helped Y& R gain some viewers as Jeopardy had been on at midday for years, and viewers had long term habits disrupted. Maybe try that new story on CBS?

That's how things stayed until June 75 when ABC dropped Password for a new game show Showoffs.

Then in July NBC dropped Jackpot for Magnificent Marble Machine. So again Y&R went from facing a long running game show to being up against 2 untried (and ultimately unsuccessful)game formats.

By August things had changed

ABCs new 12 noon Showoffs game, which in the second week of July hit a 6.4 rating and 25 share, better than the show it replaced (Password) but still third in the time period, behind CBS's highly successful contemporary serial, The Young and the Restless (8.5 rating, 33 share), and NBC's new Magnificent Marble Machine game (which hit a 7.7 rating and 30 share its first week on the air).

[kalbir]

Y&R time slot competition at Noon ET 

March 26, 1973-January 4, 1974: ABC Password, NBC Jeopardy

January 7, 1974-June 27, 1975: ABC Password, NBC Jackpot

June 30-July 4, 1975: ABC Showoffs, NBC Jackpot

July 7-November 28, 1975: ABC Showoffs, NBC The Magnificent Marble Machine

December 1-26, 1975 : ABC Showoffs, NBC High Rollers

December 29, 1975-January 16, 1976: ABC Let's Make a Deal, NBC High Rollers

January 19-June 11, 1976 : ABC Let's Make a Deal, NBC The Magnificent Marble Machine

June 14-July 9, 1976: ABC Let's Make a Deal, NBC The Fun Factory

July 12-October 1, 1976: ABC Hot Seat, NBC The Fun Factory

October 4-22, 1976: ABC Hot Seat, NBC 50 Grand Slam

October 25-December 31, 1976: ABC The Don Ho Show, NBC 50 Grand Slam

January 3-March 4, 1977: ABC The Don Ho Show, NBC Name That Tune

March 7-June 10, 1977: ABC Second Chance, NBC Name That Tune

June 13-July 15, 1977: ABC Second Chance, NBC Shoot for the Stars

July 18-September 30, 1977: ABC The Better Sex, NBC Shoot for the Stars

October 3, 1977-January 13, 1978: ABC The Better Sex, NBC To Say the Least

January 16-April 21, 1978: ABC $20,000 Pyramid; NBC To Say the Least

April 24-July 21, 1978: ABC $20,000 Pyramid; NBC Sanford and Son repeats

July 24, 1978-January 5, 1979: ABC $20,000 Pyramid; NBC America Alive

January 8-March 2, 1979: ABC $20,000 Pyramid; NBC Jeopardy

March 5-August 10, 1979: ABC $20,000 Pyramid; NBC Password Plus

August 13, 1979-January 11, 1980: ABC $20,000 Pyramid; NBC Mindreaders

January 14-February 1, 1980: ABC $20,000 Pyramid; NBC Chain Reaction