Ratings from the 80's

[Soapsuds]

@GLATWT88

Looking back and it's worse than I thought for GL. Their cliffhanger for the week before is Josh and Reva's wedding. The following week GL dropped during the wedding. 

I've never seen a soap drop when a start of wedding was a cliffhanger.

Here's the promo for that week. Apparently the announcer wasn't right? People weren't waiting for it.

Please register in order to view this content

Please register in order to view this content

 

[JAS0N47]

Never heard of that site, so I have not. 

[Contessa Donatella]

 

I just discovered it today. I asked Bing Chat a question about primetime ratings for a show in 1975 & when Bing Chat answers a question they offer a few websites as reference. This was listed. 

[Soapsuds]

I've used their website for years. The ratings are very accurate. I use them to get the ratings for the Hallmark movies.

[Contessa Donatella]

Thanks! Exactly what I needed to know in a nutshell, quick as a flash. That web address just became a keeper. 

[Khan]

It might have been the combination of those three factors that damaged GL in the mid- and late-'80's.  Now, I'll admit that I'm in the minority when it comes to my opinion of that era; I loved watching every minute of it!  But, I can see how someone who'd watched GL longer than I had at that point (for the record, I was born in '79) might feel resentful toward the show, because the Bauers had long been eclipsed by other families.  As a matter of fact, I KNOW I would have felt the same as they did, lol.

[JAS0N47]

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 7/24/89-7/28/89 & 7/31/89-8/4/89:

Please register in order to view this content

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 8/7/89-8/11/89 & 8/14/89-8/18/89:

[kalbir]

Guiding Light this week Sherry Stringfield debut.

What is happening w/ supercouple Days? A year earlier they were challenging Y&R and General Hospital for #1 and now its middle of the pack. There's the factors of its new lead in Generations being weak plus time slot rivals Y&R being a killer show destroying everything in its path and B&B showing growth. Was there something else behind the scenes or were viewers getting tired of the supercouple craze? I know there's only a little over a year left of supercouple Days.

Edited November 8, 2023 by kalbir

[Soapsuds]

ATWT doing very well.

All episodes for the last week of July are on YouTube.

Duke finds out about the devious plan Julie and Lucinda had for him.

Susan was about to tell John about Lucinda's devious plan to get Duke out of town.

Oakdale citizens start receiving mysterious phone calls.

James returns to Oakdale as a disguised gardner Mr. Chavez. His last return under Marland. 

 

 

Pam K. Long brought back a lot of fan favorites and did some better recast but the writing was still flat. That's why GL was still struggling in the ratings. They were at #8.

YR had the Rawlins murder mystery. GL has a promo of it on its episode the last week of July.

[Soapsuds]

And I was wrong.....there is still one more week from 1989 that has never been seen.

@JAS0N47

Do you have the missing weeks for October and November?

[JAS0N47]

Yes, and January 8, 1990 which Soap Weekly did not have.

The only weeks we are missing since 1979 are 8/24/81, 10/19/87 and 12/14/87. The two weeks from 1987 were verified both from the VR post in 2019 and someone just said they had the Daytime TV scans of those weeks as well, but I have yet to receive those.

From the Soap Opera Weekly era from 1989-1991, there are 4 weeks still pending to get the additional data (affiliates, clearance and preemptions). And two weeks (5/20/91 and 5/27/91) are not yet available, but the main data is available from Soap Opera Weekly.

[Soapsuds]

Thank you for the info!

You've done an outstanding job! In my wildest dreams did I ever believe I'd see the missing years of ratings. You made it possible. Thank you!

@kalbir

Here is Sherry first day and the YR promo at the end of the episode from July 24th a Monday.

Please register in order to view this content

 

[Khan]

Anne Howard Bailey was a dreadful writer.

[Contessa Donatella]

Oh, god, yes. Although she did write Gideon & Emily, didn't she? Her only good story, one that could not be told today. Probably shouldn't have been told when it was.

Of course, that can be said about Bill Bell, too. Not the "only good" part. 

[Paul Raven]

Anne Howard Baily had a difficult task -Patch/Kayla and Shane/Kim the last 2 big supercouples had been married off, so she had to come up with some stories that kept them frontburner.

She chose the old presumed dead/amnesia trope for Shane and Kim. and Gideon/Emily for the Johnsons.

In addition Roman/Diana had ended and Roman needed a new supercoupling.

And there were no new Bradys or Hortons to be the next adventure based supercouple.