ARTICLE: ‘Days Of Our Lives’: A Peacock Success Story

[Soaplovers]

Also, each episode has ads that run depending on the level of membership on Peacock

So Days has views, plus whatever $ comes from the ads, and I'm sure Peacock can figure who signed up and the content they're watching after signing up.

When Passions was on Direct Tv, what caused them to not continue beyond the one year wasn't due to viewership... but a lack of subscription #s.   So I'm wondering if Days initially was judged based on the # of people that signed up for Peacock.. and now it's a combination of views, ad revenue, and any new subscribers coming on.

Edited Tuesday at 03:17 AM by Soaplovers

[Aback]

Am I correct in assuming that DAYS does not drive new subscribers (since it’s not promoted outside Peacock) but it helps retain the current ones (most of which where acquired when DAYS transitioned to Peacock)?

[bongobong]

Seems right to me. It's about retaining the signups from when the show migrated to Peacock. After 3 years, paid promotion seems like waste of money at this point.

[1974mdp]

That's probably the biggest plus that DAYS is bringing to Peacock...these viewers who go to the streaming service five days a week to watch the show and possibly viewing other things on the platform that they may have never watched otherwise. It's about generating daily traffic.

[Chris B]

They need to really lean into this back to basics model. In addition to another soap, if I were them I'd be looking at what HBO Max did with The Pitt and trying to launch more affordable network-style shows with longer runs. That could be the one piece that could cement them as a viable platform.

[DaytimeFan]

Yes, streamers have to maintain the regular subscription base...just like cable. 

Yes, the rush to streaming shows how unsustainable it really is. 

[DemetriKane]

What time does the Days episode pop up on Peacock?

@Manny Yes, I remember seeing headlines that The Traitors was like the number one most viewed show/reality show back in January. 

[AbcNbc247]

It's worked with me.

I've got 16 shows on my 'Continue Watching' list 

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6 AM EST.

When it isn't Daylight Savings Time, it gets uploaded at 5 AM

[cody_1990]

I think it’s successful in streaming terms. These streamers definitely spin success their own way though. Broadcast TV does that same too. The fact the show has according to that article cracked the top 20 across all streaming platforms says a lot when you compare Peacock to Netflix or Disney. Drawing viewers everyday is so important. I subscribe to Netflix and probably watch it once or twice a week, unless I am binging something, then it’s like maybe 3 or 4 days for the week. I could go days or weeks without visiting Netflix. I’ve actually been thinking of unsubscribing just cause I feel I can use the 10 bucks a month on something else lol  

Financially speaking the show made more money for NBCU when it aired on NBC and got 1.5 million viewers a day. I am sure it makes half the revenue it did before…but I think NBCU never expected Days to get 2 billion streams in 10 episodes, or to still make 100 million dollars a year or whatever they made before the move. They just wanted the loyal fan base to visit their service everyday, and a show that literally costs pennies to make compared to a regular scripted show. And if you compare streaming to television, 600,000 viewers is a lot! That’s more than The CW and Bravo have watching their channels everyday (minus a few select shows). Broadcast TV is so doomed. Look at this list 

https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/most-watched-channels-2024-tv-network-ratings-1236259845/

No wonder NBC is programming like half its weekly schedule this fall with live sports lol it’s the only programming that they can still make money on. Sports viewers for the most part have a similar loyalty to soap fans. You can expect they’ll tune in everytime their favourite teams are playing. 

 

Edited Wednesday at 03:23 AM by cody_1990

[DemetriKane]

Thank you.

[Aback]

The more I think about it, the more this feels like a slow-motion gravestone for DAYS. Sure, it’s doing fine right now, but without proper promotion or any real path to gaining new viewers, the audience is bound to shrink over time.

At least with broadcast TV, people could stumble onto the show while channel surfing. Now? The best-case scenario is that a random Peacock subscriber happens to click on a thumbnail.

[Manny]

Yeah, it probably really is one of the most watched. Maybe season 3 this January had even better figures, because what was reported here was season 2 from January 2024.

I did a calculation based on the data provided in the report... And out of the 10 shows, DAYS would be the least watched.

Calculation explained:

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With that said, again I agree that Day of the Jackal, which had a reported budget of 120 million USD for the season is still a loser for the streamer. There is no way they would ever get that money back. 

And yes, Days maybe still brings in the money for Peacock because of the year-round subscription. But that's not what the report published by this company was talking about, which was my point about reporting something as "most watched" based on total "minutes watched" as a metric.   

 

Edited Wednesday at 08:41 AM by Manny

[bongobong]

I haven't seen it yet, but Day of the Jackal is the ONLY scripted Peacock show I've heard people talk about in real life. Anecdotal, but from a boomer relative, millennial friend & gen z co-worker. There's value there in being the first big buzz show to draw people to the platform.

Bel Air is the only other show I noticed that got some organic buzz (from non-tv critics) online a few years ago.

[AMCOLTLLover]

Yeah and even if they click on it randomly. Who would binge watch like Over hundreds of episodes as a new casual subscriber ?

[j swift]

Let's also recall the context that this report has been released during network upfront season while Peacock is trying to sell ad space.

This news is a clear attempt to distract from their quarterly average loss of 372 Million Dollars, aka 100 million dollars lost per month. AKA, 1.2 Billion lost in 2024. AKA, a loss equal to the Gross National Product (GNP) of Mexico, India, or Indonesia.  AKA, a loss comparable to the total estimated worth of companies like: Canva, SHEIN, and ByteDance.  AKA, shame on an unnamed content-stealing-countess for contributing to the losses which will doom this show, AKA at least have the decorum not to crow about it.

So, it is not likely Peacock would emphasize how their core audience of 70-year-old retirees is having trouble using their streaming service. They choose the stat that looks best when you don't spend too long considering other data.

Edited Wednesday at 09:39 PM by j swift