On 10/27/2023 at 3:14 PM, JoeCool said:

Thanks. I did not watch GL but I was just shocked.

 

@JAS0N47 So OLTL hit number 1 for the week of 8/29/88, was there any other week prior where OLTL hit number 1 or tied for No. 1?  I think the week of 8/29/88 was the first week OLTL hit Number 1 outright.

@JAS0N47 OLTL tied for Number 1 with GH during the week of 12/7/87. Checking your website!!

@JAS0N47 @kalbir The week of August 24, 1987 to August 28, 1987. There was a three way tie for Number 1 between All My Children, 7.6 25%, One Life to Live, 7.6 26% and Young and the Restless, 7.6 27%.

 

1987 and 1988 were off years when you factor in Iran-Contra pre-emptions, Nielsen people meters, and the writer's strike.

1 minute ago, kalbir said:

1987 and 1988 were off years when you factor in Iran-Contra pre-emptions, Nielsen people meters, and the writer's strike.

Agreed. But I thought it was interesting about OLTL.

For the most part, I think OLTL remained very solid in '88...but it was also clear even then that Paul Rauch and S. Michael Schnessel were starting to take the storylines in very strange directions.

ABOUT TO TYPE UP THE NIELSEN VERSION OF THE FIRST-EVER SOAP WEEKLY CHART FROM 10/16/89!

I just looked at the network press release charts that I posted on my site many years ago for Aug/Sep/Oct 1989. They all match exactly to the Nielsen books except for one item: The week of 9/25/89. YR is listed on the network release as 7.6/31. This must have been before the 1230-1PM portion of Monday 9/25 was classified as a breakout (only half the usual affiliates got this portion). So, taking that half hour out of YR upped its final official rating for the week to 7.8/32.

I am now typing up the Nielsen book version of the first-ever Soap Opera Weekly chart of 10/16/89, so I will update you if there are any differences as to what SOW has listed.

FIRST SOAP OPERA WEEKLY CHART FROM 10/16/89 MATCHES NIELSEN BOOK EXACTLY!

 

Here's the first confirmation that the Soap Opera Weekly charts will match exactly what is in the Nielsen books:

 

 

44 minutes ago, JAS0N47 said:

FIRST SOAP OPERA WEEKLY CHART FROM 10/16/89 MATCHES NIELSEN BOOK EXACTLY!

 

Here's the first confirmation that the Soap Opera Weekly charts will match exactly what is in the Nielsen books:

 

 

ATWT had the James Stenbeck murder trial with Paul on trial for his murder.

4 hours ago, kalbir said:

Darlene Conley first episode was actually January 17, 1989. I think Sally was first mentioned in 1988, that's probably why I thought she arrived in December that year.

Spectra Fasions had been mentioned first during the first few months of the show I think? When was Clarkes first episode again?

6 minutes ago, YRfan23 said:

Spectra Fasions had been mentioned first during the first few months of the show I think? When was Clarkes first episode again?

September 29, 1987 as per YT upload, but the date could be wrong.

26 minutes ago, kalbir said:

September 29, 1987 as per YT upload, but the date could be wrong.

Thanks, and yeah that's probably will off, but we will be able to figure that out now!  

"DAYS" RATINGS: 1980-1989: HIGHEST-RATED WEEKS:

 

With the 1980's ratings charts nearing completion, I went ahead and put in the November and December 1989 "Days" ratings so I could start sorting the complete decade of ratings. This is a sample of what is now available for each soap for 1980's ratings fans:

 

Here are the top 200 highest-rated weeks for "Days of Our Lives" from 1980-1989: (Note: Weeks in red are "fast weekly" weeks and are only preliminary numbers. They do not count in the yearly averages for soaps)

 

1st to 50th place

 

51st to 100th place

 

101st to 150th place

 

151st to 200th place

 

 

"DAYS" HIGHEST-RATED WEEK IN THE 1980's:

 

Here's a look at the highest-rated week of "Days" in the 1980's, the week of 12/29/86-1/2/87, when it got an 8.9 rating:

 

Edited October 29, 20232 yr by JAS0N47

This is truly incredible! Thank you for sharing all this information with us. I have looked forward to coming on here just to see how these numbers played out through the decade. 

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 10/10/88-10/14/88 & 10/17/88-10/21/88:

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 10/24/88-10/28/88 & 10/31/88-11/4/88:

Soap ratings are cooling off.

ATWT:

Nancy's wedding shower with familiar faces returning.

James returns.

Robert Calhoun out as EP. Laurence Caso new EP.

 

Edited October 29, 20232 yr by Soapsuds

Y&R #1! I think around this time was Ruthless publication that exposed Ashley ending the pregnancy by Victor and Victor quickly divorced Nikki and married Leanna in order to deflect attention away from Ruthless.