DAYS OF OUR LIVES Moves to Peacock From NBC on September 12

[Vee]

Not a dream, not an imaginary story, folks.

Like sands through the hourglass, another iconic TV title is switching to streaming: NBC’s Days of our Lives will become a Peacock exclusive starting September 12, Vulture has learned. The move will end the show’s 57-year run on broadcast television and also marks the exit of NBC from a genre it pioneered 73 years ago with the launch in 1949 of These Are My Children, widely credited as TV’s first-ever daytime sudser. It comes as two other major broadcast titles — Thursday Night Football and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars — prepare to shift to streaming this fall.

In the case of Days, there has been industry speculation about it jumping to Peacock for some time now. The series, produced by Corday Prods. in association with Sony Pictures Television, has dodged cancellation multiple times over the past 15 years, with Sony and NBC often engaged in very last-minute negotiations to hammer out deals which make financial sense to both parties. Days has been the least-watched of the four remaining network daytime dramas for years now, making it increasingly difficult for NBC execs to justify keeping the show around absent reduced license fees (which Sony has largely been able to deliver).

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“This programming shift benefits both Peacock and NBC and is reflective of our broader strategy to utilize our portfolio to maximize reach and strengthen engagement with viewers,” Mark Lazarus, chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming said of the decision. “With a large percentage of the Days of Our Lives audience already watching digitally, this move enables us to build the show’s loyal fanbase on streaming while simultaneously bolstering the network daytime offering with an urgent, live programming opportunity for partners and consumers.” NBC will fill the gap left by Days with a new one-hour news program, NBC News Daily, anchored by Kate Snow, Aaron Gilchrist, Vicky Nguyen and Morgan Radford.

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Full article in Twitter link.

 

[te.]

Boom.

 

I'm not surprised DAYS is the first one to move online directly from broadcast.

[Vee]

Neither am I. And it's probably for the best - the only future soaps have is streaming - but I'm still a bit shocked it's come without warning.

[dragonflies]

Given how well Days did when it was the NBC app, and I'm guessing it must be doing great #'s on Peacock, this does NOT shock me 

[DynamiteKiddo]

Holy $h!t!  Will this affect the actors’ deals???

[Toups]

Wow.  That is huge.  As an international viewer, I will have to wait and see who gets the rights to air it in my country.  Otherwise, I will have to find other methods to be able to watch.   I wonder how this will affect the shows budget.  Will it get worse?  I hope this works out and the show will be able to stay on the air. 

[AbcNbc247]

We all had a feeling this would happen sooner or later, but I am surprised about how this came about so quickly, or how this was able to be kept under wraps until a month before it happens. 

I just hope this means that nothing changes... and that the budget is a little bigger as well.

[dragonflies]

BS must have done great too for them to even consider this. I hope the budget increases a lot

[Faulkner]

Agreed. Expected this but not so SOON lol. I’m interested in how the content might change. Will the show be more like Beyond Salem—gayer, sexier, and more meta—or will they cater to their older mainstream audience? And will Beyond Salem continue?

[Vee]

I think this was always inevitable for DAYS assuming it proved somewhat cost-effective for them (but no, I wasn't expecting it now either). Beyond Salem has always seemed like a pilot program to me. How long it can sustain itself functioning daily year-round with the classical format in a new medium is another story. It would not shock me if it became seasonal/arc-based like most streaming shows, and like AMC and OLTL 2.0 once hoped to do.

Edited August 3, 2022 by Vee

[Taoboi]

Well I definitely hope for a bigger budget at least.

[dragonflies]

Is it sustainable being 5 days a week though? I see that being asked in other places

[Vee]

I'd be surprised if it is, long term.

[MichaelGL]

Doesn't seem real. I'm shocked, and it's so soon. I wonder if the exits of a few of the cast was because they knew about this in advance. 

[dragonflies]

Maybe it can be a limited series seasonal thing like BS. Might even be a shot in the arm for it