Ratings from the 70's

[JAS0N47]

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 6/9/75-6/13/75 & 6/16/75-6/20/75:

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FAST WEEKLY WEEK OF 6/23/75-6/27/75 NOT AVAILABLE

(Note: Per newspaper listings, there were no scheduled preemptions and all daytime shows were scheduled to air every day this week).

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 6/30/75-7/4/75 & 7/7/75-7/11/75:

Edited September 8, 2024 by JAS0N47

[JoeCool]

All My Children moves to 12:30PM as Ryan's Hope premieres on July 7, 1975. AMC's ratings will decline following the move and will begin to increase when AMC expands to 60 minutes in April 1977. AMC gets its 1pm slot back in January 1977.

Ryan's Hope takes AMC 1pm slot.

[JAS0N47]

In addition, I didn't know AMC had a whole week of hour episodes the week before RH debuted, so that was new info to me.

[JoeCool]

Yep. ABC was testing AMC in the hour format. Agnes Nixon was very upset that AMC was moved to 12:30 for RH. Agnes sold OLTL and AMC in early 1975. Agnes blamed the time slot move for AMC's decline in ratings.

[Contessa Donatella]

She was also as violently & virulently anti-the hour format as Bill Bell, Claire Labine & Susan Flannery all were. Agnes was literally quoted as telling Pete Lemay that he had lost his mind. ABC used the carrot to get Agnes to go along with them on the change. Their offer: more studio space plus some money to pay more actors. She was in a cramped space. What's a girl to do? (By 1979 Lemay was convinced he'd been wrong & she'd been right.) 

[JoeCool]

Yep Agnes preferred 30 minutes but you are correct the bigger studio and more money for actors and more sets lured Agnes into AMC going to 60 minutes.

[kalbir]

Bill Bell also preferred 30 minutes. We know from the 1980s ratings thread that Y&R had a post-expansion slump. 

I don't know if this was answered earlier, but how long did Bill Bell write for Days after it expanded to 1 hour? Also did Susan Flannery depart from Days around the time it expanded to 1 hour?

[JAS0N47]

Yes, the actors had to sign new contracts when the show went to an hour, so she opted out. Bill was the head writer through 5/6/75, then "Story By" 5/7/75-8/77, then "Story Consultant" 8/77-4/13/78.

[kalbir]

@JAS0N47 Thank you for the answers.

[Contessa Donatella]

It was why she left. 

[will81]

There was someone else who worked in soaps who had nothing good to say about the expansion and I can't remember who it was. Maybe a writer who largely left the format before the expansion and was connected to AMC.

She refused to watch the show and said going to an hour would kill soaps and water down the shows social relevance. She apparently didn't think much of AMC since it had gone to an hour. I'll try to find the quote again. 

Side note there is an audio recording of one of the summer 75 hour long test episodes on youtube for anyone that might be interested. Here is Part 1

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[Contessa Donatella]

Love to hear more about this. 

 

[will81]

Unfortunately it was one of those deep dives I was doing and came across it and lost it. But if I ever find it again I will post for sure. 

[Contessa Donatella]

I understand! 

[JAS0N47]

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 7/14/75-7/18/75 & 7/21/75-7/25/75:

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FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 7/28/75-8/1/75 & 8/4/75-8/8/75: