#NBC Looks ‘Beyond’ Same-Day Ratings for DAYS
The fans of Days of our Lives, long accustomed to fearing low ratings, with the belief it will lead to imminent cancellation, now find themselves at ease. NBC’s little soap opera that could (have a lead character become possessed by the devil and thrive post-OJ trial) has been on one of the wildest ratings rides in soap history and, based on Same-Day ratings, is not in great shape.
The soap opera added viewers weekly to 1.722 million viewers from last week’s 1.705. The additional 17,000 viewers marked a one percent increase. On the bright side, DAYS managed to pull in 1.7 million or more viewers for the third week in a row, something the soap has not been able to do since February.
Another plus for DAYS was the soap opera’s increase from last year. DAYS added 25,000 viewers from last year’s 1.697 million, up just under 2%. More than anything else, DAYS appears to have bounced off its all-time lows from a couple of months ago. For June, DAYS average 1.548 million viewers, hitting a bottom of 1.489 million during the week of 6/25.
The following month (shortened by the Olympic Games on NBC) had an average of 1.638 million viewers, up 90,000 month-over-month for a solid 6% increase. The recently ended month of August (also shortened by the Olympic Games) has DAYS up again, adding 89,000 total viewers to an audience of 1.727 million viewers-up another 5%.
Demographic Numbers Are Not Great
While audience levels are low but improving, the demo numbers aren’t encouraging. DAYS dipped in both categories By .01 with a .27 in women 18-49 and .40 in women 25-54, the second straight week of declines in both demographic groups. The average for August was a .28 in women 18-49, which is a 12% increase over July’s dreadful .25 average.
The numbers are stagnant in women 25-54 month over month. But compared to last year when DAYS pulled in a .31 in women 18-49, the soap was down 13%. DAYS took the biggest hit in women 25-54, losing 20% of last year’s .48 in the demographic. Season to date, DAYS has dropped from a .39 to a .31 in women 18-49 for a 22% drop and tumbled from a .62 in women 25-54 by 27% to a .45- the most significant annual percent decrease for any of the four soap operas.
Even with some pretty grim seeming numbers, these are some of the brighter days of our lives. NBC has renewed DAYS for an additional two years guaranteeing that the soap opera will live to see its 53rd anniversary, and it did so knowing full well the state of the show’s audience.
DAYS: Beyond Ratings
Not only that but DAYS: Beyond Salem, the 5-hour limited series spin-off of the soap, premieres next week exclusively on the streaming service owned by NBC, Peacock. The five-part event drops each night on the streaming service beginning 9/6 and has been heavily promoted by the network- certainly receiving more promotion than any daytime series has in recent memory.
DAYS has shown NBC the value a soap opera brings to the network on its streaming service. Enough so that the network has been able to overlook its same-day ratings performance. And the network hasn’t just decided that the soap’s valuable enough to let it act as a place-holder in the afternoon simply. The renewal, the spin-off, the promotion, and the prominent place on the network’s streaming service is a massive vote of confidence.
GH and DAYS Have Much in Common
ABC’s General Hospital and DAYS share a lot more in common than with CBS’ more traditional soap operas and generally appeal to a younger audience that seems to have abandoned the conventional network option of viewing their soap. However, both still outperform Y&R and B&B in DVR playback, and we have implicit confirmation that DAYS is doing well on Peacock. I am interested in seeing Hulu’s numbers for General Hospital. In the meantime I am cautiously optimistic for DAYS, GH, Y&R and B&B, more so than I have been in years.