Jump to content

Ratings from the 80's


Paul Raven

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 2.2k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

  • Members

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 1/12/81-1/16/81 & 1/19/81-1/23/81:

Please register in order to view this content

I just saw the 7/25/88 numbers. Nice to finally see "Days" at # 1 for once. Hooray!  Still hasn't happened since I started watching the show in 1990, but I finally got to see the full chart for the week. They just beat YR by 1/10th of a point. Phew!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I have a question, but I don't know the dates.

Did any soap benefit from the Olympics disruptions in 1984 or 1988?  And did any of those gains last?

I ask because I know Santa Barbara on NBC premiered poorly against the Olympics on ABC in 1984.  But, I was wondering if fans used the opportunity to sample other soaps to a degree that there was actually an uptick in ratings?  I think the dates don't align, but I was pondering if Steve & Kayla's wedding, or other big soap events, were successfully used as counter programming?

Edited by j swift
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

1980s Olympics

Lake Placid winter: February 13-24, 1980 - From this thread, ABC pre-empted One Life to Live and General Hospital on February 13, 1980 for Olympics coverage.

Moscow summer: July 19-August 3, 1980 - NBC had the broadcasting rights but the coverage was reduced due to the US boycott. From this thread, NBC did not pre-empt any of their soaps for Olympics coverage.

Sarajevo winter: February 8-19, 1984 - ABC had the broadcasting rights. 

Los Angeles summer: July 28-August 12, 1984 - ABC had the broadcasting rights. 

Calgary winter: February 13-28, 1988 - ABC had the broadcasting rights. 

Seoul summer: September 17-October 2, 1988 - NBC had the broadcasting rights.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Both DAYS and AW featured remotes the week SANTA BARBARA premiered.  Bo and Hope in New Orleans and AW featured a remote that was filmed at Coney Island where Cecile was kidnapped as she entered the tunnel of love.  This would be the end of Nancy Frangione’s contract appearances as Cecile.  She would return in late October 1984 to wrap up the storyline and would make several more guest appearances in 1986, 1989, 1993, and 1995-96.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

The month before the Olympics DAYS had a 7.2

Please register in order to view this content

And the week of the Olympics it had 7.4

Another World had a 5.4 in June

and a 5.8 during the Olympics

If we consider the variance, these gains don't exceed chance, so it looks like counter programming didn't help.

ABC soaps benefitted from the Olympics

And average 1.3 change in ratings slightly exceed chance, indicating a significant gain

CBS remained stable, with no changes that exceeded chance, even though it lost more viewers than NBC or ABC.  CBS's numbers vary the most from week to week in the 1984 data listed here, so the change is expected.

It was fun to break out the old ANOVA tables to figure out the stats, thanks @JAS0N47 @watson71 @kalbir & @AbcNbc247 for the additional information.

So, if we could travel back to 1984, our advice to NBC would be to follow whatever CBS did during the Olympics. Don't spend the money on the remotes, because they won't have a significant effect (and SOD reported that the rain in New York messed up the production schedule for AW) and, hold Santa Barbara's premiere (and their very expensive floors) until the fall.  Hindsight is 20/20.

Edited by j swift
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I wonder if Ryan's Hope being ahead of Search for Tomorrow was CBS's motivation for rearranging the soap schedule on June 8, 1981.

Ryan's Hope head-to-head w/ the first half of Y&R from June 8, 1981 to October 5, 1984. It will be interesting to see Y&R rise and Ryan's Hope fall during that period.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Hindsight is definitely 20/20.  NBC and the production companies were definitely spending money on their soaps. But the ratings were not helped by ABC airing the Olympics.  
 

On a side note, here is an interesting piece of trivia- on the premier episode of Santa Barbara at the 18:00 mark, the reporter is played by Margaret Impert.  She was the actress who played Rachel on AW briefly between Robin Strasser and Victoria Wyndham.

 

Please register in order to view this content

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    •   Like I said I wasn’t talking about characterization. It makes sense that Dani is in denial. However literally no one in the real world would accuse someone of faking a pregnancy. Why? Because it’s just not feasible. What is Dani supposed to expect from Hayley—that she’ll be hiding a pillow under her shirt 24/7? Come on. The accusation has no legs, and that’s exactly why nobody would ever go there. A far more plausible accusation—one that actually has been made for centuries—is that someone might lie about who the father is. Dani only vaguely hinted at that, but at least that angle would make some narrative sense. I’d go for a coworking space that would be home to these small businesses like Kat and Chelsea’s bag startup (the whole police station trope feels like copaganda to me)
    • I guess RTPP looked worse because it followed Another World, but it's a shame they didn't give it more time especially considering how the shows that were put on following it fared.
    • Please register in order to view this content

    • Durkin was awful. The writing did her no favors, but she was all wrong for the part, lacking the mix of mystery, steeliness, sorrow and hesitancy that defined Victoria. I still have the awful memory of Adam lugging her around like a rag doll. She looked much more like one of the Blue Whale dancing extras than Victoria. And her voice... Maybe I am too harsh. With that said, Curtis didn't seem as bothered. I see from a fan review mentioning Barnabas & Company that Durkin was asked to return for Victoria's final episodes and declined as she had a Christmas trip to Europe with her husband planned and wasn't interested in just a few appearances.  I refuse to believe Victoria actually died during the Leviathan storyline. If Barnabas and Angelique could come back 8 times, she could come back a few.
    • It's a shame she only appeared in three episodes for the purpose of being written out - I thought she was quite good in the little we saw. I liked her vibe better than Durkin that never seemed to quite capture Victoria as a character.
    • He did a lot of romance novel covers, so that might've just been enough for them to get their panties in a twist.
    • Pre-TGIF, ABC most successful 1980s Friday 8 pm comedy I'd say was Webster. Full House wasn't a hit its first two seasons but it started showing growth in its third season which overlapped with the launch of TGIF. Funny thing is, Full House became a Top 10 show with the 1991/92 move to Tuesday.
    • Oakland Tribune, 14 July 1985   AW is another show with Schenkel at helm By Connie Passalacqua For the most part, dictators of South American banana republics enjoy better reputations than executive producers of daytime soap operas. Total authority is vested in these producers, who can kill off a character (thus firing an actor) with a stroke of a pen, or completely change life in his or her soap opera dominion (both in its fictional locale and backstage at the studio) on any kind of whim.  Most rule despotically, inspiring fear in their actors and writers. Which inevitably surfaces on the screen and subtracts from a show's quality. Then there's Stephen Schenkel who became executive producer of Another World last fall. He's been described by one of his actresses as "a teddy bear." He has noticeably improved the show, mostly because his natural warmth encourages backstage cohesiveness, and he believes in personally nurturing his staff and cast. 'I like to be supportive', he said.' I like to generate a certain amount of enthusiasm. I love actors and writers and technical people. And I like to laugh..  ' Schenkel said that most of the factors that have led to the shows improved ratings existed before he took over. There were well defined characters, outstanding writers and excellent production values, he explains. 'These things were in place but needed to be stimulated. There wasn't a lot of excitement. What really was missing was an adequate story. We added Gillian Spencer as a writer. (she also plays Daisy on All My Children), who's wonderful, and it just coalesced. The writers energy and commitment to the show began to give it an emotional intensity and some real passion within the characters." Schenkel, a former ABC programming executive who helped develop Ryan's Hope, is a strong believer in stressing romantic and comedy elements in soap operas. AW is also one of the only soaps with an established group of comic characters, including Wallingford (Brent Collins) and Lily Mason (Jackee , Harry). Schenkel raves about the talents of all his actors, and even has something good to say about the Brooklyn location of the shows studio, which most of his Manhattan-oriented staff loathe. I like the people here. I like to walk down the street and feel their energies, he said. He also violateda soap opera no-no, ' inviting actors and writers to the same party. "Everyone got to know one another, he said. And I didn't get any complaints about actors ' begging for story lines, he said. 
    • Since it's pride month.

      Please register in order to view this content

         
    • National City Star-News, 5 May 1977 TV topics by Peter Blazi Lear’s ‘All that Glitters’—doesn’t The best thing that can be said about Norman Lear’s newest soap opera“All That Glitters” is that it comes on so late at night most people will miss it. Role reversal is supposed to be the big draw, with women the breadwinners, mainly executives of a huge conglomerate. The men either fuss with the housework or fidget at the office as secretaries to their bawdy bosses. A female fantasyland? I doubt it. While the role reversal idea has some possibilities, the show pushes too hard for laughs and winds up with raucous females and effete males. A confident, independent woman is indeed a sight to behold and attract, but femininity need not be sacrificed. Unlike Lear’s “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” "Glitters” doesn’t, but you’ve got to give him credit for trying. Today’s experimental comedy is what tomorrow’s hits are made of. Better luck next time, Norman. (“All That Glitters” can be seen weekday evenings at 11 p.m. on Channel 6.) .
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy