May 1-5, 2006

[dawn9476]

That is Days and NBC are currently negotiating. NBC is deciding whether or not to pick up the last two years of that contract. IF NBC doesn't, Days will go off the air next year. If they do, the show will be on the air till 2009.

[Gray Bunny]

Damn it! Why can't GL step it up just one week? What happened to those 2.4/2.5's that GL can sometimes get? I was hoping for that at least on a Monday and on last Wednesday with Reva's breast cancer ITL episode. Too bad ATWT isn't higher in the numbers, too. I can just see stuffy conservative executives blaming it on the gay storyline (which is the show's best story right now). Major OUCH to DAYS. This is what happens when 3 wrong couples have sex. Who cares if it's produced as being some big romantic milestone, it's still Hope & Patrick. Along with Bo/Billie and Frankie/Jenn, the numbers aren't surprising.

P.S. Four soaps are up from the previous week, so we can't clump DAYS with every other soap and say that the whole genre fell last week.

[R!ck]

Here are the network averages vs last week

TOTAL VIEWERS

CBS 4,050,000 (-110,000)

ABC 3,220,000 (-50,000)

NBC 2,340,000 (-120,000)

HH

CBS 3.0 (same)

ABC 2.7 (+.1)

NBC 1.9 (-.1)

WOMEN 18-49

ABC 1.7 (same)

NBC 1.4 (-.1)

CBS 1.4 (-.1)

WOMEN 18-34

NBC 1.5 (-.1)

ABC 1.5 (+.1)

CBS 1.1 (-.1)

[SteveFrame]

Sadly two of them are up for ratings stunts. I love OLTL so much but they have stunk for so long now and then so many have tuned in for this tornado. Sadly they will probably quit again because that is just what happens and I just don't have faith in Higley being able to hold on to them.

GH has stunk for the last few weeks in my opinion and even AMC came up and almost passed it. Now they start this story with Holly's return and Anna's return and just like February it is exciting and people are tuning in but sadly they will go back down.

The other 5 soaps fell and I know that ATWT should not have. Last week was a great week for the show IMO. I no longer watch GL at all so cannot say about it.

As to Days the only bright point is that they did have a big rebound on Friday - if it did not have that I would be more worried. And there were no stunts that day either - just a continuation of the weeks stories. The rest of the week was consistent and that rebound on Friday saved them. I will wait to worry when i see the ratings for this week to see if the rebound continued.

[SpiritualJunkie]

Gee..I never like to blame the ratings on any one particular storyline but GL clearly needs to end this garbage with Lizzie's pregnancy and start giving other storylines more focus (ie. Alan-Michael possibly being Ross's killer). You can have a great episode like Reva's ITL show but if viewers feel like the main focus on the show is about some Who's the Daddy plot aimed at trying to bring in together a couple no one cares about while destroying one of the show's most popular couples...most people would still feel uninclined to watch.

Hopefully, more people have been tuning in this week but I don't expect any improvement in ratings for another few weeks.

[KevC1980]

Days almost lost their prized 18-34 demo..they tied with GH..Hey Rugrat when was the last time they tied or lost that demo..

I'm sure nbc has to be freaking out about that..hopefully JER will be gone soon..

[SoapDevotee88]

OMG!! What the hell happened to Passions. The Last time I saw the ratings Passions was ranking in at 2.0 and 1.9 at households...steadily and constantly switiching between those two numbers. Now, it musters up a 1.4 and barely. Does anyone know what happened? What has lead Passions to this ratings slide? Have the storylines been lacking or boring? This is really sad. I hate it when soaps do bad in the ratings even if I don't watch them.

Anyways, I am bewildered by the fact that GL did so poorly I thought last week was pretty great with ITL: Reva and the pregnancy. I really hope these numbers improve for all the soaps. Maybe, its just me since I haven't checked the ratings in a while and the last I did I remembered them being much higher.

[Toups]

I think last year. DAYS lost it a couple of times to GH.

[Jane1978]

Well, I´m going to say this. People, who claims couples´ fanbases are just small but active groups and there is much bigger group of fans who are watching the show as a whole is obviously wrong. People clearly tuned out for the wrong couples sexfest last week. Cheap sex and sex without love is obviously not what people want to see, even if Patrick stays shirtless all the time.

Corday has to be really sweating right now, he is about to start negotiationg with NBC and all he can offer are numbers even worser than when Highley was writing the show. And it´s not just one day imbalance in otherwise stabile numbers like two weeks ago. People are fed up and ready to give up. DAYS is not even single winner in the 18-34 cathegory, and he used to lead that one with a whole number advance.

Reilly has to go. If he´s been just destroying couples, ok, but he is destroying couples and filling rest of the show with boring nonsense nobody cares about. Where is the Reilly, the great storyteller? All his current stuff is either predictable for months ahead, doesn´t give any sense (Patrick is suddenly working for Alex, when we have never seen them together before, that whole Alma stuff, everything regarding Alex) or is just a filler acted out as a big drama for weeks(Chelsie in sewer, Mimi wanting to tell everyone about Claire).

But what I miss most is rootability. There is really no one on the show you can root for. Everybody is either screwed, or stupid, or both.

[cody_1990]

i agree with you guys all that sex last week turned everyone off the show but i think they will be back up to at least a 2.5 next week

[Ponz]

Excellent post, Jane.

The ratings confirm over and over that pissing off your biggest fanbases and providing no root value is a recipe for disaster. How low will the ratings have to drop before Corday and co. realise that dissatisfaction DOES equal disassociation.

These are payoffs that I believe would significantly boost the ratings:

1) Jack returns...the J/J/F triangle wraps up quickly. Jack & Jennifer return to the Spectator and become involved in a mystery/adventure storyline surrounding Steve's "death".

2) Lucas realises that Carrie is just a trophy for him. He can't go through with the wedding and finally admits that Sami is the ONLY women he loves and his soulmate. He apologizes for behaving like a sanctimonious jerk and sets out to win her back.

3) It is revealed that Chelsea is not Bo and Hope's daughter...

Further suggestions are welcome.

[King]

OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!

I don't know why I am surprised. It is the week that DAYS had J/F, B/B, and P/H sleep together. I should have known fans would tune out for that.

Oh well, I thought it was hot.

[Angela]

Hey Kev, I haven't kept up with their 18-34 since 12/2005, but in my books:

10/17/05.....7.....2.4.....08...*4) 1.7/11 - 2) 1.8/12 (18-34)

[SIPort]

They've all but obliterated the veterans. The show is littered with younguns with little talent, and they refuse to resolve the rotting corpse of a Black Hole called Gwen/Ethan/Theresa.

Plus, they kept their premier leading man - Galen Gering off the canvas for SIX MONTHS - and then had the nerve to have him return to that bull$*#& that is Chris/Sheridan.

[PhoenixRising05]

I know I wasn't. I thought it was hot too KR and, unfortunately, fanbases outweight casual viewers who don't mind stuff like this. Viewers of other shows could tolerate this but Days viewers can't. As much as I love Days right now, JER needs to go now. Its shame because most of these stories are good its just not what Days' fanbases want. If things change (and I think they will) and Days gets a new writer, I just hope they don't instantly reunite the couples because that would be crap. That always seems to happen when Days panics or makes a change. Bope should be apart for awhile but everyone else can be reunited IMO.

All I can say is if Days gets another writer and reunites the couples and people still bitch (and I know they will because it always happens) then my points these last few months will be proven. Sure JER is hated but I know many Days fans will find something else to complain about even after changes are made. I have seen it before. I hope changes are made so a good majority is satisfied but I know very well a good deal won't be no matter what.