Olympics In Place of ‘DAYS’ Can’t Stop CBS Soaps, Games Coverage Trips Up ‘GH’
Y&R Hits Total Viewer High, Ties High in Demo Against Olympics on NBC
The number one soap since the 1988 Olympics, Young And The Restless continued to hold the title, hitting a season-high in total viewers and tied its high in women 18-49 this week (when counting full weeks of episodes only) against NBC’s coverage of the 2020 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo . The CBS soap opera averaged 3.392 million viewers, adding 22,000 viewers (up just under 1% from last week) and marking the third straight week of growth. The soap also edged up the 18-49 demographic 2% from a .47 to a .48, tying a previous high set back in April. Y&R dropped in women 25-54, down slightly from a .71 to a .70. Y&R remained number one in all three demographics and leads for the season. You can check those numbers out here.
B&B Grabs Gold Versus Last Year’s Performance
CBS’s younger soap opera added 51,000 viewers this week, back up to 2.917 million viewers (up just shy of 2%). B&B dipped from a .41 to a 42 in women 18-49, still in the higher range of its performance in that demographic this season. In women 25-54 B&B dipped 5% to a .63, off from last week’s .66 but just slightly behind the soap’s season average. Compared to last year however, B&B posted huge gains across the board. In the 18-49 demo, B&B was up 64% from the dreadful .25 last year and up 47% from the equally bad .43 in women 25-54. In total viewers, B&B bounced back by 43%. adding 884,000 viewers to last year’s series low of 2.033 million viewers.
GH’s New Pool-side Set Gets Lukewarm Response
Evidently, viewers had their fill with actual pools during the Olympic event coverage on NBC. Despite the much hyped addition of the Metro Court Hotel’s rooftop pool to the the set, General Hospital broke its month long trend of adding total viewers. The ABC soap opera’s 2.072 million viewers was off 66,000 from the previous week, down 3%. On the flip side, GH held steady with a .32 in the women 18-49 demographic. Up against the Olympid coverage, this week was on the lower end of all three measurements for the year. GH took a 6% hit in women 25-54 as it dropped from a .54 to a .51, tying this season’s low. Next week marks the first in which year to year comparisons can be made.
DAYS On Break, Buzz Building For Limited Series
As is the tradition during NBC’s coverage of Olympics, Days Of Our Lives was preempted this week. However, buzz is building for the soap as more details about Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem have been released. The biggest news thus far is that fan favorites Eileen Davidson and Chandler Massey will return forthe five episode limited series. Rumors have a tentative September 6th release date for the series on Peacock, NBC’s streaming service. The positive response from fans could spell a new era of soap opera related programming reimagined for the digital age. This soap fan is working on some ideas for such programming. Check back for my fantasy spin-offs for GH, Y&R and B&B or the next few weeks.
- General Hospital Spotlight: A Complete Guide To All 60 Episodes Currently Airing On ABC’s Free 24-Hour Streaming Channel
- General Hospital Spoilers: Monday 5/8/2023
- General Hospital Spoilers 2/6/2023
- General Hospital Spoilers 2/7/2023
- General Hospital Spoilers 1/26/23
