Ratings from the 80's

[JAS0N47]

 

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 11/10/80-11/14/80 & 11/17/80-11/21/80:

 

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[MichaelGL]

Impressive seeing Guiding Light so far up amongst the ABC soaps. 

[kalbir]

@MichaelGL It's amazing that Potter/Marland GL is holding its own against massive hit/pop culture phenomenon General Hospital. OTOH Y&R is struggling against All My Children.

NBC entire network was a mess in the early 1980s. As we all know, NBC would have some signs of life in daytime at the start of supercouple Days in 1983 and recover in primetime Fall 1984 with the premiere of The Cosby Show.

[Broderick]

I *guess* #6 is about as low as Y&R will go before ultimately beginning its climb back to #1.  

[BoldRestless]

 

I wonder what those 5 minute preemptions for GH and Y&R were about. Not a political ad since the election was over by then. 

[JoeCool]

GL is strong. Y&R is struggling within itself I guess. With the time change and expansion to an hour it lost its footing but I consider Y&R strong in 1980. All My Children was on fire then and One Life was coming into its own. I know Agnes Nixon was still HW at AMC. I consider All MY Children's best and golden years as 1978 to 1984. I think she also may have been doing some writing for OLTL or consulting. NBC was a mess, both daytime and nighttime.

Edited July 6, 2023 by JoeCool

[robbwolff]

Out of curiosity, I Googled that date. Those short preemptions were on the day of a fire at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Eighty-five people died as a result of the fire. Just speculation, but perhaps the preemptions were to provide coverage of the fire.

[JAS0N47]

When it's in the middle of a show, it's most likely a special report. Nielsen's titles for them are this:

ABC Special Report 307-312PM. (Sustaining, no rating)

CBS News Special Report 129-134PM. (Sustaining, no rating)

 

[BoldRestless]

 

Thank you!

[Paul Raven]

Variety reported daytime ratings for week ending March 7 1980

What is interesting is that the afternoon speciais were included, which I have never seen reported before . They were shown over a number of years pre-empting the 4pm shows. I always wondered how they did and if they were shown mainly for good PR. Anyway, this week shows that they did score excellent numbers although not the desirable demos that advertisers wanted.

1. ABC Afternoon Special 'What Are Friends For?'

2. GH

3. NBC Special Treat ?

4. AMC

5. OLTL

6. GL

7. Y&R

8. CBS Library Special ?

9. AW

10. ATWT

[will81]

If Days had been in better shape, I'd say Y&R would have dropped far further in the ratings during this period. Days struggling more was a saving grace in a lot of ways.

Though I also think Y&R had a strong base viewership who were willing to weather the storm. 

Edited July 7, 2023 by will81

[Paul Raven]

Yes ,although Y&R was a little shaky at that time, there was still Bill Bell at the helm and a lot of familiar characters to ease viewers through the transition.

[JAS0N47]

When things slow down, I can find any specials that you want the ratings for. 

Here are that week's list:

Daytime Specials: Week of 3/3/80-3/7/80:

ABC Afterschool Special 430-530PM Wednesday 10.5/26

NBC Special Treat 4-5PM Tuesday 9.3/24

CBS Library 4-5PM Tuesday 7.9/22

CBS Magazine 10-1054AM Thursday 3.1/15

 

 

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 11/24/80-11/28/80 & 12/1/80-12/5/80:

 

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Edited July 7, 2023 by JAS0N47

[AbcNbc247]

I had a feeling AW and Texas were gonna get a little bump on the week of the 24th

Edited July 7, 2023 by AbcNbc247

[GLATWT88]

GL at #2. Looked up what was happening that week and found the following summary if anyone else is curious:

Holly left with Christina for Switzerland and told Ed she was getting out of his way for the sake of his and Rita’s happiness.  Tim was arrested for drunk driving and later jumped on Kelly for blabbing to Sara.  Elizabeth took Phillip from Justin and Jackie for Thanksgiving.  Andy urged Barbara to go into the restaurant business to get over the shock of Adam and Sara’s planned wedding.  Rita accused Ed of blaming her for Holly’s departure.  Chet drew a sketch of Jane Marie to aid in the search for her.  Ben decided to be a witness for Jennifer’s defense, but couldn’t face telling Amanda.  Diane got fed up with Joe when he insisted that the tapes are missing.  Alan told Rita he will surprise Hope with a Christmas vacation to their deserted island.