Ratings from the 80's

[Franko]

Not sure about lost viewers, but the 1988 writers strike lasted from March 7-August 7, 1988. I'd love to know when the first post-strike material was being written or started airing. Speaking of the '88 strike and GH, it's pretty clear that someone rented Fatal Attraction, because entire plot elements from that movie were repeated for Olivia/Duke/Anna.

[AbcNbc247]

I don’t blame them for changing their plans lol 

I wonder if anything else in that storyline was re-written because of that, or was it just the location that changed 

Edited September 19, 2023 by AbcNbc247

[JAS0N47]

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 10/14/85-10/18/85 & 10/21/85-10/25/85:

 

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FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 10/28/85-11/1/85 & 11/4/85-11/8/85:

 

[TEdgeofNight]

Santa Barbara was the first show to list their writers after the strike. The writers were listed by the end of August and in the credits, they said Welcome Back!!!! after the writers were listed.

[beebs]

Wild to see Loving so competitive at this stage, coming so close to beat AW, especially knowing how this truly is as good as it's gonna get for them. Were the stories really that strong at the time, or was it just them being buoyed by the uptick of ABCD in general?

[JoeCool]

Agnes Nixon returned as HW in June 1985 and the stories got stronger for a time. This probably explains the small bounce.

[soapfave06]

I know what it was always low rated but what year did Santa Barbara get into its groove? Was that closer to 1988 with their claiming the Emmy’s? 

Edited September 19, 2023 by soapfave06

[Contessa Donatella]

They won Best Show 3 consecutive years so we probably have to consider that time a "groove". 

[kalbir]

Plus in that same era (1988-1990) Santa Barbara had a bit of a run at the SOD Awards. I don't think they ever finished higher than 10th in the annual ratings though.

[Contessa Donatella]

Didn't they have trouble with clearances? Nope, they don't seem in trouble that way! 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Donna L. Bridges
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[Ryan Mason]

I remember reading in an article at the time that someone from the show said that the ratings were on a roll until they killed off Mary Duvall (Harley Jane Kozak) and then they never recovered. Creatively, the show was definitely firing on all cylinders for that first half of 1986, so to me at least on that level it seems plausible. She died in the July 14, 1986 episode so it'll be interesting to see soon if this winds up being true or not!

Edited September 20, 2023 by Ryan Mason

[JAS0N47]

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 11/11/85-11/15/85 & 11/18/85-11/22/85:

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FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 11/25/85-11/29/85 & 12/2/85-12/6/85:

Edited October 8, 2023 by JAS0N47

[JAS0N47]

FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS: WEEKS OF 12/9/85-12/13/85 & 12/16/85-12/20/85:

 

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FROM THE VAULT: WEEKLY DAYTIME NIELSEN RATINGS (FAST NATIONALS): WEEK OF 12/23/85-12/27/85:

 

[YRfan23]

Wow, the beginning of Y&Rs permanent climb to number 1 it looks like! 

[kalbir]

What to look forward to 1986:

Y&R at its zenith during the first half of 1986 with the big storylines culminating. There will be some #1 weeks during the year and Y&R moves up to 2nd in the annual ratings.

Marland era As the World Turns starts showing growth. 

Edited September 21, 2023 by kalbir