Looking back...Primetime Ratings from the 80's

[kalbir]

The Cosby Show destroying everything in its path. Murder, She Wrote defying expectations and finishing ahead of the soaps, action shows, and the new hotness Miami Vice.

[Soapsuds]

Anybody know the exact air date for the episodes of both shows?

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[kalbir]

@Soapsuds February 10, 1984

[Soapsuds]

Thanks!!

[Paul Raven]

88-89 Season Top 20

In 

Roseanne -only hit show I recall that was moved to a lead in timeslot during it's first season. From Tues @8.30 to Tues @9.

Anything but Love - midseason following Roseanne

Dear John -following Cheers

Unsolved Mysteries Wed @8

Hunter-Sat @10 following NBC comedy block

Head of the Class-stronger lead in from Growing Pains

Out

The Wonder Years down to #22 moved to Wed @9 then back to Tues @8.30

Moonlighting removed from schedule due to falling ratings and backstage drama,final eps played Sun @8

CBS Sunday Movie down to #27

My Two Dads removed from schedule,used as midseason replacement

Valerie's Family down to #22

Night Court-moved to Wed down to #21

Nothing new from CBS.Only 2 shows in Top 20. Next highest rating shows were Sunday Movie #27 and Dallas #29

1	The Cosby Show
2	Rosanne
3	A Different World
4	Cheers
5	The Golden Girls
6	Who's the Boss?
7	60 Minutes
8	Murder, She Wrote
9	Empty Nest
10	Anything But Love
11	Dear John
12	(Tie) ALF
12	(Tie) L.A. Law
13	Matlock
14	(Tie) Unsolved Mysteries
14	(Tie) In the Heat of the Night
15	Growing Pains
16	Hunter
17	(Tie) NFL Monday Night Football
17	(Tie) Head of the Class

Edited March 30, 2023 by Paul Raven

[soapfan770]

Just to add but Knots was tied at #27 with the CBS Sunday movie for the season, making it the first time Knots beat Dallas. Falcon Crest ended up at #52. Show had a strong start but Ana Alicia’s exit and just bad writing and bad casting triggered a ratings free fall. 

Despite Dynasty’s more acclaimed and improved Season 9, ABC was pretty much over the show by that point and threw it on Thursday nights against Cheers. Dynasty ended the season at #64 tied with CBS’ Beauty and the Beast.
 

Moonlighting’s final season was horrible. The miscarriage episode was disgusting and essentially ended any remaining interest. 
 

Three Saturday night shows rated in the Top #20 would be completely unheard of in today’s era. 

Edited March 31, 2023 by soapfan770

[kalbir]

1988/89 the writer’s strike delayed season.

NBC sitcoms still dominating, taking 5 of the Top 10 spots.

The Cosby Show fourth consecutive #1 season but it wasn’t as dominant as the previous three seasons. 12 out 25 episodes finished #1 in the week of their original broadcast, 10 episodes finished 2nd, two episodes finished 3rd, and one episode finished in the Top 10. This season The Cosby Show saw its dominance threatened by the breakout success of Roseanne. On a win-loss basis, new episodes of The Cosby Show were 14-5 vs. new episodes of Roseanne.

Roseanne was the breakout hit of the season and the first show to threaten The Cosby Show’s dominance. Six out of 23 episodes finished #1 in the week of their original broadcast. Roseanne came along at a time when the popular family sitcoms embodied mid-1980s Reagan era ideals and Roseanne was the anti-Reagan era ideal family sitcom. The breakout success of Roseanne was a sign that times and tastes were changing.

No change to the network rankings from the previous season: NBC #1, ABC 2nd, CBS 3rd.

1988/89 was another season w/ not a lot of hit dramas.

CBS: Murder, She Wrote was still a Top 10 hit but Knots Landing, Dallas, and Falcon Crest were aging (they had all gone off the rails plus budget mode kicked in), and Beauty and the Beast, Jake and the Fatman, Tour of Duty, and Wiseguy were not showing growth. Spring 1989 saw the end of Simon & Simon and The Equalizer. The new drama from 1988/89 that would return was Paradise.

ABC: MacGyver, Thirtysomething, and China Beach were not showing growth. Spring 1989 saw the end of Moonlighting, Dynasty, and HeartBeat. The new drama from 1988/89 that would return was Mission: Impossible.

NBC: Matlock, L.A. Law, In the Heat of the Night, and Hunter were Top 20 hits. Spring 1989 saw the end of Miami Vice, Highway to Heaven, and Sonny Spoon. The new dramas from 1988/89 that would return were Midnight Caller and Quantum Leap.

On the whole 1988/89 wasn’t a very good season. The combination of after effects of the writer’s strike and changing times caused so many shows to feel off.

Edited April 4, 2023 by kalbir

[Paul Raven]

The writers strike delayed the official start of the 88/89 season. lack of new product meant that schedules were revised to include movies, reruns to fill the gaps.

A few series were especially commissioned to fill gaps in the schedule until shows were ready .

ABC went to Australia to film episodes of Mission Impossible to play Sunday @8 instead of 'A Fine Romance' originally scheduled. That show finally debuted in the Thurs @8 slot later in the season.

Trackdown was a Sat@8 reality series filling in foe  'Murphy's Law'

CBS went with reality show 'High Risk' Tues @8 until TV 101 was ready for that slot and Dick Clark Wed @ 8 until Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore (Annie McGuire) sitcoms were available.

On Saturday they had a sitcom'First Impressions' on the shelf which was teamed with reruns of 'Fran's Place to fill Sat 8-9 until Dirty Dancing and Raising Miranda were available.

NBC were assured of a win with the World Series, Superbowl and Thurs/Sat night hits.

 

[kalbir]

NBC also had 1988 Summer Olympics, which were held that September.

[kalbir]

The big three sporting events (Super Bowl, World Series, Olympics) played a part in the final finishes of the networks that broadcast them.

1979/80 - ABC had the World Series and Winter Olympics. CBS had the Super Bowl. CBS moved up from 2nd to #1 and ABC dropped from #1 to 2nd. NBC had the broadcasting rights to the 1980 Summer Olympics but the coverage was reduced due to the US boycott.

1980/81 - NBC had the World Series and Super Bowl but was still 3rd.

1981/82 - ABC had the World Series. CBS had the Super Bowl. CBS was #1 and ABC was 2nd.

1982/83 - NBC had the World Series and Super Bowl but was still 3rd.

1983/84 - ABC had the World Series, Winter Olympics, and Summer Olympics. CBS had the Super Bowl. CBS was #1 and ABC was 2nd.

1984/85 - NBC had the World Series. ABC had the Super Bowl. NBC moved up from 3rd to 2nd. ABC dropped from 2nd to 3rd.

1985/86 - ABC had the World Series. NBC had the Super Bowl. NBC moved up from 2nd to #1. ABC was still 3rd.

1986/87 - NBC had the World Series. CBS had the Super Bowl. NBC was #1 and CBS was 2nd.

1987/88 - ABC had the World Series, Super Bowl, and Winter Olympics. ABC moved up from 3rd to 2nd.

1988/89 - NBC had the Summer Olympics, World Series, and Super Bowl. NBC was #1.

1989/90 - ABC had the World Series. CBS had the Super Bowl. ABC was 2nd and CBS was 3rd.

[Soapsuds]

Top 20 shows

For the week of October 28, 1984

 

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[Paul Raven]

That was Week 5 of the season

Mon CBS had a strong showing but Kate & Allie was #22 and NBC Bloopers won 8pm #24

ABC swept Wed Fall Guy/Dynasty/Hotel. Dynasty was #1 for the second week in a row.

NBC Tues A Team/Riptide/Remington Steele.

CBS Thurs sweep . I wonder how worried they were at that point about NBC's comedies. Maybe they thought NBC would be a strong #2, underestimating what a monster Cosby would become and how that would flow through the night.

Friday went to CBS but they were unable to find a strong 8pm show.

ABC took Saturday but Love Boat was only #33. Golden Girls was waiting in the wings to sweep in next season

CBS took Sunday but viewers deserted at 9pm to see Brooke Shields in Wet Gold #20. Jeffersons was #27, Alice #40 and Trapper John #45

 

[kalbir]

1984/85 season was divided in two.

Pre-Super Bowl, Dallas/Dynasty battle. Up to Super Bowl week, Dallas had 6 episodes finish #1 and Dynasty had 5 episodes finish #1. In that same time, The Cosby Show only #1 episode was the pilot. On a win-loss basis, the records up to Super Bowl week were Dallas vs. new episodes of The Cosby Show 13-0, Dynasty vs. new episodes of The Cosby Show 11-2, and Dallas vs. Dynasty 7-7.

Post-Super Bowl, The Cosby Show blows up. After Super Bowl week, The Cosby Show had 8 episodes finish #1 in the week of their original broadcast. In that same time, Dallas had 3 episodes finish #1 and Dynasty did not have an episode finish #1. On a win-loss basis, the post-Super Bowl records were new episodes of The Cosby Show vs. Dynasty 8-0, new episodes of The Cosby Show vs. Dallas 8-1, Dynasty vs. Dallas 7-5.

In the end, Dynasty moved up from 3rd to #1, Dallas dropped from #1 to 2nd, and The Cosby Show was the breakout hit of the season finishing 3rd. 

Edited April 9, 2023 by kalbir

[GLATWT88]

I noticed that the 1984/5 season was the peak for primetime soaps in the 80s. All the soaps seem to experience a significant drop the next season. Do we have any theories or solid reasons for why this happened? 

[Paul Raven]

Good question.

I guess a number of factors were at play.

Firstly Cosby coming along put sitcoms back in the spotlight. That show drew all of the other NBC Thursday sitcoms into the Top 10 and just as ABC and NBC tried to find competing soaps when Dallas took off, the other networks tried to find their own Cosby/sitcom hits.

Secondly the shows themselves were aging and because of the format it was difficult to keep things fresh. Dallas viewers expected to see JR scheming, Dynasty wanted Blake/Krystal/Alexis etc so the shows had to keep finding plots to service those characters, the backflip to that is that viewers also got bored seeing the same sort of stories.

Also the networks had failed to find any other soap hits apart from the Big 4. Had Berrengers, Paper Dolls or Emerald Point taken off there might have been fresher shows to keep the genre alive.

And like any shows they had a shelf life , in fact the soaps ran longer than a lot of other shows considered hits that may have gone on 5-6 seasons.

Just a few ideas. I'd like to see what others can think of.