Nielsen Ratings Daytime Chart, 1978...

[JAS0N47]

NIELSEN RATINGS...1978

Here's a look back at the full daytime ratings averages for January-August 1978, from Broadcasting Magazine. "Days" was in 13th place overall (and 10th out of 14 soaps) at the time.

[robbwolff]

How cool! Very interesting to see Ryan's Hope in second place for the women 18-49 group.

[All My Shadows]

That's the first thing I noticed as well! Looka RH!

Shocked to see Match Game so low. Just three years earlier it was the #1 show.

[teplin]

Thanks, I don't recall ever seeing 18-49 breakouts in ratings from this era -- or maybe I never paid attention. The 18-49 rankings show why ABC was bringing in the big ad bucks back then (and why CBS and NBC would spend years tinkering with its shows to appeal to a younger audience): #1 All My Children, #2 Ryan's Hope, #3 One Life to Live #4 General Hospital -- though that order would change soon enough.

Meanwhile, "my shows" fared pretty badly. Though I was younger than the desired age group, I was glued to Another World (#8 in 18-49s), Days of our Lives (#14) and The Doctors (#17).

[OldGHFan]

Wow. Wasn't GH the #1 soap in 1979? It's #8 here. Gloria Monty worked a miracle.

[Jeff]

I didn't know Another World was ever that high! Kewl... thanks.

[Soapsuds]

1. As The World Turns 8.6

1. Another World 8.6
3. All My Children 8.4
4. Guiding Light 8.0
5. The Young And The Restless 7.8
6. Search for Tomorrow 7.5
7. One Life To Live 7.2
8. Ryan's Hope 7.0
8. General Hospital 7.0
10. Days Of Our Lives 6.9
11. The Doctors 6.5
12. Love Of Life 6.0
13. The Edge Of Night 5.2
14. For Richer, For Poorer 3.9

​This is the ratings for the full season…..I think NBC and CBS had older viewers because their shows had been on the air longer..thus loyal viewers….ABC soaps were newer and something younger viewers who hadn't watched soaps could get into.

[juppiter]

Days of Our Lives has been the unkillable cockroach of daytime for at least 37 years now... I love a good underdog story.

[titan1978]

It wasn't just viewer loyalty. ABC went after younger viewers, and the other networks attempted to follow suit.

Monty told Genie Francis she wanted kids to watch, and she wanted to use her to get them on GH.

All My Children had plots about social issues, which played very well on college campus. Plus Agnes had humor on her shows.

One Life to Live was in the middle of Karen Wolek's storyline. But again, the earlier Nixon influence made the show a bit hipper than lets say ATWT.

[titan1978]

It is fascinating. Some key cast changes, a good HW, and better production and focus and she saved the show. As popular as Luke and Laura were, people forget that Lesley/Rick/Monica, creating the Quartermaines, Diana/Heather, and Bobbie trying to keep Scotty and Laura apart got the show to number one.

Didn't Bill Bell save Days? I think I read that somewhere once. His stories helped the show take off?

[JAS0N47]

Yes, Ted Corday never knew that Days was a hit. It was close to being cancelled in 1966. Bill Bell joined the show at the end of May, 1966 and his first episodes started airing just before Ted Corday died in July, 1966. It took a few years, but Bill Bell's writing got the show, which was in 9th-10th place for its first 3 years on the air, all the way up to 5th place in 1968, and then from 2nd-4th place from 1970-1976.

Year...............Rank........Rating.....Share

1965-66..........9 (of 17).......5.3..........20

1966-67.........10 (of 13)......6.9..........26

1967-68.........10 (of 12)......8.7..........31

1968-69..........5* (of 14)......9.3..........31

1969-70..........7 (of 19).......8.8..........30

1970-71..........4* (of 18)......9.5..........32

1971-72..........3 (of 17).......9.9..........34

1972-73..........2 (of 17).......9.9..........32

1973-74..........2* (of 16)......9.7..........32

1974-75..........3 (of 14).......9.6..........33

1975-76..........4* (of 14)......8.3..........30

1976-77..........7 (of 15).......7.8..........27

[Paul Raven]

Anyone interested in old ratings check out the cancelled soap thread for detailed ratings from 60's,70's and 80's.

Week ending Oct 27 1974

1. MATCH GAME '74 (11.3)
2. AS THE WORLD TURNS (11.0)
3. ALL MY CHILDREN (9.5)
4. DAYS OF OUR LIVES (9.5)
5. THE DOCTORS (9.4)
6. THE PRICE IS RIGHT (8.9)
7. THE GUIDING LIGHT (8.8)
8. ANOTHER WORLD (8.7)
9. HOLLYWOOD SQUARES (8.5)
10. SEARCH FOR TOMORROW (8.4)
11. GENERAL HOSPITAL (8.1)
12. LET'S MAKE A DEAL (7.9)
13. YOUNG & RESTLESS (7.8)
14. ONE LIFE TO LIVE (7.6)
15. CELEBRITY SWEEPSTAKES (7.3)

[Soapsuds]

Love me some Match Game. I have the greatest eppys on DVD. I guess the show fell in the ratings as it got older.

WOW ATWT at 11.0 rating……..havent seen anything close to that since 1993/1994 when Y&R hit a 9.7 rating.

[OldGHFan]

It worked on me. I was in middle school when I started watching AMC, OLTL and GH. Way too much TV in one sitting!

[Mitch]

ATWT was number 1 in 78 and wasnt it like 7 in 79? No wonder the suits freaked out!