NBC Daytime

[Jdee43]

Traditionally, it seemed like any soap that aired on NBC before Days of our Lives and after Another World was probably not going to do too well. I wonder why they didn't try to put more soaps between DAYS and AW. 

Also NBC was too enamored of the 60 minute format. That format only seemed to work for established shows, not new ones. 

In the late 80s, the schedule was

1pm Days of our Lives  /  2pm Another World   /   3pm Santa Barbara 

If instead it was 

1pm DAYS  / 2pm Santa Barbara   / 2:30pm The Doctors   /  3pm AW

or

1pm DAYS  / 2pm Santa Barbara  / 2:30pm Search for Tomorrow /  3pm AW

or 

1pm DAYS  / 2pm Santa Barbara   / 2:30pm Generations /  3pm AW

might this schedule have done a little better and lasted longer, into the mid to late 90s? 

Santa Barbara would have done much better as a half hour show, especially creatively. It never really had enough strong characters to fill an hour show successfully. 

 

 

[Paul Raven]

NBC had an hour slot to fill so a 1 hr soap seemed inevitable. Half hour shows were out of fashion at that point. CBS and ABC persisted because they had that slot to fill.

And a I hr show was cheaper to produce than 2 half hours. And in daytime ,profit was a major motivator.

NBC squandered TD and SFT, both legacy shows that had years left in them but were systematically destroyed.

[Gray Bunny]

What was the "official" NBC line-up in 1997 through mid-1999?  In Chicago, they bumped AW back from noon to 1pm, so that Sunset Beach could take its place. So we had 11am DAYS, 12 noon SUN, 1pm AW until AW's cancellation/Passions' premiere. Then, they moved DAYS to 1pm and Passions at 2pm with SUN staying at noon through the end of the year. 

Edited January 28 by Gray Bunny

[te.]

11am Leeza

12pm Sunset Beach

1pm Days of our Lives

2pm Another World

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997–98_United_States_network_television_schedule_(daytime)

[Contessa Donatella]

Yeah because Sunset Beach being at noon instead of the last slot in the afternoon never made a lick of sense to me but that was where they put it "officially". 

[watson71]

And once NBC moved AW out of its traditional 3 PM start time in 1979 after 15 years, the show never regained its footing at the top of the daytime ratings.  It spent 20 years in the lower half of the daytime ratings when it deserved better ratings.  At some point, NBC should have tried to move it back to 3 PM.  By the mid-80s Guiding Light was experiencing ratings trouble too.  It would have been interesting to see what AW could have done back at 3 PM.

[Contessa Donatella]

That was a period, a rather long period, when so many of us fans felt that the ratings did not reflect the show.

[Paul Raven]

NBC placed a 2 page ad in Variety to promote FTR and YDM.

Wednesday, August 16, 1961

Drama by Daylight

Among the things people have stopped kidding during the past few seasons are Soviet science, Mickey Mantle’s bubblegum chewing and daytime dramas on television.

 It’s easy to see why.

Russian space experts have been making Buck Rogers look about as modern a Buck Jones; 

Mr. Mantle has blossomed into one of baseball’s greatest sluggers; and ‘TV's best daytime serials have matured to a point where they do almost as much for drama as they do for soap.

By “best” we mean, of course, “From ‘These Roots” and “Young Dr. Malone,” the two, half hour serials seen back to back on NBC from Monday through Friday. Any non-thinking, non-viewing critic who'd refer to either of these programs as soap operas should have his mouth washed with you-know-what.

Together, the two shows represent five hours of well-crafted live drama per week. On every level—writing, acting, production—the standards are uncommonly high.

More than one dramatist will tell you that the daytime serial is one of the best media of all for talented writers, since it allows so much more time to explore a dramatic situation a single, full-hour offering.

One such booster is author Leonard Stadd, who’s been writing “From These Roots” since last summer, and who thinks of a daytime series as ‘“T'V’s novel,” as contrasted with the “short stoty" of nightime television.

“What's more,” says Stadd, “‘you get a standard of acting that would be hard for nighttime TV to top, for here we have a kind of repertory company where there’s simply no room for anything but the most professional of performers.

DESPITE THE DEMANDS a daytime series makes on an actor's resources, the turnover is small. On “From These Roots,” for example, more than half a dozen cast members  (including star Ann Flood) have been with the series since its premiere three years a

Because our daytime dramas originate in New York, we're able to tap a plentiful supply of seasoned Broadway performers. Conversely, the TV actors get the chance to work in the theatre —be it Broadway, off-Broadway, or off-ofl Broadway (like suburban summer stock).

Last season Barbara Berjer of "From These Roots" appeared in Broadway's "The Best Man"  OffBroadway, Len Wayland worked in“U.S.A.” and Robert Mandan performed in both ‘Here Come the Clowns” and ‘The Death of Satan"

From the “Young Dr. Malone” company, Dr, Jerry Malone himself (actor William Prince) will be starring at Westport Country Playhouse next week in “Venus at Large,” a new comedy by Henry Denker.

AT NBC we've long believed an actor should be well-rounded— even if he never intends  to play Falstaff— but all the acting skill in the world wouldn't make our daytime serials as good as they are without the guidance of first-rate production personnel.

“Young Dr. Malone” is produced for us by Carol Irwin, whose substantial credits are too long to list here, but who's probably best known for her eight-year stint as producer of and packager of the “I Remember Mama” series. Her director is the very able Jim Young, whose  imposing track record includes contributions to that same “I Remember Mama.”

‘From These Roots” is masterminded by producer Eugene Burr, whose strong TV credits were preceded by theatrical posts with the Theatre Guild and Billy Rose (to give you an idea). His director, Paul Lammers, is a veteran of such worthy programs as the Kaiser Aluminum Hour, Philco Television Playhouse and Kraft Theatre.

With these and other capable pros working behind the scenes, both of the daytime serials have been able to treat mature, adult themes in depth without ever sliding over into sensationalism or over-sentimentality. It appears that many sensitive subjects— such as infidelity, alcoholism or the problem of adopting an  older child can be developed much more thoroughly in a dramatic series than in a one-shot drama or documentary.

The significance of this has never escaped the attention of astute sponsors, for whom viewer loyalty to NBC daytime drama has always reaped handsome dividends.

The nature of this viewer support was never better exemplified than in a letter sent us last summer by a Pennsylvania woman (initials: VirginiaHardy) who'd read a report somewhere that “From These Roots” was going to be dropped by her local station,

Mrs. Hardy was, in a word, livid. “I have tried in vain,” she wrote, “to become absorbed in the eternal search for tomorrow, or in the brilliant glow given off by the guiding light—which will undoubtedly lead us to the brighter day. I have tried marrying Joan, loving that Bob, beating the clock and even leading three lives, but none can hold a candle to "From These  Roots’.”

WITH THAT SORT OF ROOTER, our daytime dramas may well go on forever. And that’s fine—even though a long run does place a heavy premium on ingenuity.

Ilustration: The current “Young Dr. Malone,” which bears the same title as the radio serial that  began with NBC 22 years ago, is based on all-new situations; and in this TV series, the original “Young Dr. Malone” (Jerry) has an adopted son, David, who's also a physician.

Because it would now be too confusing for the dialogue to call either one the young Dr. Malone, the prefixing adjective is never used at all. Our other daytime serial will never have any such problem. After all, whoever heard of a doctor— or even a dentist named "From These Roots"?

[Paul Raven]

A review of the 85-86 season in Broadcasting magazine shows NBC dominating primetime. late night, Sat morning, weekday morning and competitive in news.

But all that success could not translate into daytime.

In demographics, NBC dominated as well. The final numbers were not in at press time, but through mid March, NBC was well ahead in delivery of men and women in all the major age groups, teenagers and children.

Cosby and Family Ties were first and second, respectively, in delivery of men and women. NBC had five of the top 10 shows drawing the largest female audiences (the other three were Cheers, Golden Girls and You Again). CBS had four: Murder, She Wrote, Dallas, 60 Minutes and Knots Landing. ABC had one, Dynasty.

NBC also had eight of the top 10 shows drawing the largest male audiences, including Cosby, Family Ties, Cheers, Miami Vice, Night Court, Amazing Stories, You Again and Highway to Heaven. CBS had the other two, 60 Minutes and Murder, She Wrote.

Among teenagers (12 -17), NBC had eight of the top 10, while ABC had the other two.

Among children (2 -11) NBC had nine  of the top IO and ABC had one.

NBC's momentum has spilled over into other dayparts as well. At the beginning of the season, the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather had a lead of about two rating points over NBC's Nightly News with Tout Brokaw and ABC's World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. At the end of the season, Nightly News had pulled to within one rating point of CBS, having tied CBS twice in share and once in rating toward the end of the season.

And NBC's Today strung a I 4-week winning streak together in the morning news race, taking the lead from ABC's Good Morning America in the first quarter of 1986. It was the first time Today won a quarter since 1980.

In daytime, however, NBC still lags considerably in attracting the crucial women, 18 -49 demo. Through mid -March, NBC was last in daytime with only a 3.4 rating in the women I8 -49 demo, compared to CBS's 4.1 and ABC's 6.1.

In the late night race, NBC was maintaining its lead through April 13 (the last available numbers) with an average 5.5/22. CBS was second with a 4.5/18 and ABC was third with a 3.9/14.

NBC also held its strong first - place position on Saturday mornings, averaging a 6.0/22, compared to CBS's 4.7/17 and ABC's 4.0/15.

In hindsight,any ideas what could NBC have done at that time to boost daytime?

[Contessa Donatella]

They never had even a clue when it came to promoting their soaps. Game shows pretty much took care of themselves but soaps, oh no. NBC did it stand for NoBody Cares? Cause that  would be a logical assumption if you looked at their promos, which they always did on their own, which is crazy.

 

[Khan]

I think if NBCD had just left their shows well enough alone, allowing each one to develop its' own identity, and not be forced to chase after ABCD's demographics, they could've knocked CBSD down a peg or two.

[Franko]

I think they should have given up the 12 p.m. EST half-hour, since most affiliates were going to use that for local news. I'd have them keep Super Password, though, airing it in the 10 a.m. slot against The $25,000 Pyramid on CBS. Or, if they didn't want to have two games with celebrity guests competing against one another, SP could air at 10:30 a.m., between Sale of the Century and Wheel of Fortune and against Press Your Luck on CBS.

As for the soaps, they really needed to stand on their own instead of being ABC clones.

(If we needed to bolster ABC, my answer is obvious: shows at 10 a.m.)

[Khan]

Of course, I agree with you, @Franko, as you can see from my last post.  But I guess I also can see the rock and the hard place that NBCD was stuck between.  ABCD pretty much had a lock on the younger and "urban" demographics, while CBSD had their lock on older, more conservative viewers.  So, where did that leave NBCD?  I guess that's why they made such a big deal about "Passions" hitting big with 12-17 years old, lol.

[Franko]

I'll also concede that Days probably survived the ABC-ification the best.

[Khan]

I agree.  DAYS seemed able to evolve into a more ABCD kind of show, even if longtime fans who've argued that that DAYS was a far cry from the DAYS of the previous decade have a point.

But poor AW.  It seems like P&G and NBCD agreed on one thing and one thing only, and it was that neither really had any use for the show anymore.