Sunday, August 19, 2012

More Bad News for ABC Daytime: Ratings

The bad news continues for ABC Daytime.  The Chew, the talk show that takes place while people cook, lost still more viewers with 1.94 million viewers, the first time the ratings have dipped below 2 million in awhile.  The drop also represents a 24% loss in overall viewers from All My Children.

We're reporting Nielsen ratings data from the week of August 6th.

Good Afternoon America, soon to disappear, had 1.42 viewers, a slight  uptick from the previous week, but still off 51% from One Life to Live, its time slot predecessor.

The View had 2.42 million, off 11% from last year, but still the winner in daytime talk.  The prior week, The View had 2.58 million viewers.

On CBS, The Talk drew 1.98 million people, off only 2% from last year at this time, but up from 1.89 the prior week.

It's safe to say, I think, that many Americans are off vacationing in August, so it's not surprising that people aren't in front of their TVs watching daytime television, but the percentages show nevertheless that the programs on the air aren't drawing the numbers they used to.  And that's meaningful.

Here are the breakdowns for the various demographic groups (with comparisons to last year in parentheses) most important to advertisers.

Women 25-54:
The View (ABC): 553,000 (-21)
The Talk (CBS): 523,000 (- 6)
The Chew (ABC): 434,000 (-44)
Good Afternoon America (ABC): 334,000 (-62)

Women 18-49:
The View (ABC): 464,000 (- 5)
The Talk (CBS): 377,000 (-12)
The Chew (ABC); 337,000 (-42)
Good Afternoon America (ABC): 256,000 (-66)

Women 18-34:
The View (ABC): 183,000 (+11)
The Chew (ABC): 125,000 (-30)
The Talk (CBS): 96,000 (-27)
Good Afternoon America (ABC): 93,000 (-60)

53 comments:

  1. Oh, poor ABC!!! lol You want viewers - viewers obviously don't want to see what your offering. This is what happens when a network decides to totally disregard what their viewers want - soaps!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. lololololol!!! see what happens ABC when you think so little of the people who kept your network alive by watching AMC & OLTL for 40+ years:) mission ALMOST accomplished:) NOW to bring down Disney:) pretty soon, ya'll will be standing in the unemployment line:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YOU ARE SO RIGHT, THEY SHOULD HAVE LEFT IT THE WAY IT WAS. IF IT'S NOT BROKE DON'T FIX IT.

      Delete
  3. Force-feeding a cooking show to a demonstrably fed up viewership and serving a dessert of pop psychology and tabloid trash to savvy soap fans just ain't gonna work. Don't unpack your bags in hopes of a long stay Katie Couric 'cause you may be evicted next!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She's doomed!...We're sick to death of talkies, foodies, gameshows, news, and more yapping...give us our scripted shows back...until then, the BOYCOTT continues!

      Delete
    2. She's doomed!!!...We don't want her or all the other boring talkies...we want our scripted shows back...until then, the BOYCOTT continues...how you liking those numbers now???

      Delete
  4. Who watches the Chew anyways! ABC you are so stupid! Bring back our soaps!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. you see what happens when you guys take our soaps away..we just dont watch..we want All My Children and One Life to Live back..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mandi Banks wyatt_levi_5182009@yahoo.comAugust 19, 2012 at 7:06 PM

    Im not going to hide who I am. My name is Mandi Banks and I haven't watched a single ABC show besides GH since you took my soaps off. You wanted to cut the shows that brought you viewers and replace them with another cooking show? Isn't that what food network is for?
    Anywho, its time you guys go open those AMC and OLTL sets up! Clear out the cobwebs and start recording where you left off!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Absoutely correct, Mandi. Us soap viewers have cut down The Revulsion & GAA....kc is next. It will happen!!!!

      Delete
  7. Lol! Serves U right for utter lack of respect for your viewers! Shows The ABC network that WE Have The Power!! If u want to know the basic Trend is I turn to channel 7 at 3pm then at 359pm I turn the channel now respect that!!! HAHA Give us our soaps back we dont want what your offering or like the blogger above me said get in the unemployment line!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm wait for next week ratings.Neilsen will probably raise it since the Olympic's are over then they'll be going on about how it was just because of the Olympic's.I have no trust in Neilsen.They even had the soaps down on veiwers.I watched the olympics to but I never missed a day of GH.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I bet they are kicking themselves in the arse now since they canceled such great shows like AMC and OLTL. There were loyal viewers who got let down and wonderful actors and actresses who got screwed over. You think the viewers wanted something different well I guess they got it, the viewers simply changed the channel to find it.

    ReplyDelete
  10. ABC your kidding yourselves if you think the ratings are low because people are on vacation, face it no one likes your new line up of replacement shows, what ever happen to making your public happy and bring our ONE LIFE TO LIVE BACK,and ALL MY CHILDREN, back your ratings would go up and everyone would be happy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. How can you make light of people standing in unemployment lines when they have their families livelihoods to take care of. I wouid never make a statement such as that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are not making light of the unemployment line they are when they put hundreds of people out of work when they canceled AMC and OLTL that have been doing a great job for years.

      Delete
    2. Good point. Not only has ABC hurt viewers, but they were terribly callous to all those employees, especially those from AMC who moved to LA only to be let go.

      Delete
    3. Well said! Move to the other side of the country to "save" your job, only to lose it less than a year later. I give ABC a boo and two middle fingers.

      Delete
  12. funny they say it is because people are vacationing that maybe true for some but others are still pissed about their show being cancelled. It is called Karma ABC!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That's what they get for taking our soaps off the air. We will end the boycott on their programming as soon as we get them back. And just because the season is changing doesn't mean anything really.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Poor pathetic ABC. Ratings are going down, and their profits are sinking as well. If only your parents had taught the Board of Directors to actually listen to what people want. They could've started "The Chew" on Food Network, Oprah could've supported the people's wishes and taken up arms for the soap opera genre, Agnes Nixon could've had her legal rights restored so that SHE could determine the fate of HER creations. But noooooo. Why do the decent and honorable thing when you can turn a blind eye, a deaf ear, and stimulate a small spark in a pea brain by going with faulty and innaccurate data? Soap operas are as much a part of the American way of life as "Masterpiece Theatre" is a part of European culture. And if ABC/Disney can't realize that, then maybe they shouldn't be qualified to work a hot dog stand, let alone manage a once highly regarded and esteemed conglomerate.

    ReplyDelete
  15. they nevee should have canceled amc and oltl !! screw them

    ReplyDelete
  16. People probably aren't watching the View because they are on hiatus right now.....I wonder if that's taken into consideration when they do the ratings. Hmmmm

    ReplyDelete
  17. Since the View is on hiatus right now, I wonder if that's taken into consideration when they tally the ratings. That could be why viewership is down on that.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I was a loyal viewer of AMC & OLTL & GH for 31 years. Because my loyalty along with millions of other faithful viewers has been completely disregarded as meaningless by ABC/Disney then until you put my beloved soaps back on the ONLY show I will continue to watch on ABC will be General Hospital! Period!!!!! I VOW to NEVER watch one single second of ANY OTHER show ABC serves up! Plus, here's not only a prediction, but a fact...every replacement show you try WILL fail because us soap fans are loyal to the core and angry as HELL!!!! Get the message ABC!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Still no ABC/D in my house - except for General Hospital.
    Their 'research' told them viewers wanted more informational talk, huh. HA

    ReplyDelete
  20. Further demonstrates that ABC made a huge mistake cancelling AMC and OLTL. I will never watch anything other than GH on this network

    ReplyDelete
  21. As a lifetime viewer of all ABC Soaps, I am delighted to see these ridiculous crap shows bomb. I'm loving my GH but still wondering what's going on in Llanview and Pine Valley. ABC, you suck and the ratings show it.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Don't get to comfy Katie!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Once again the viewers show ABC/D who the real bosses are. The ratings are in the basement ABC do you Hear Us Yet??? and if so time to admit you made a huge mistake... To bad you are not humble or noble enough to do so! (ldytaffy)

    ReplyDelete
  24. The excuse is the viewers are vacationing think again. If you would consider the viewers and the Soaps they watch but you never did. Keep on the crappy programs that some will not watch. RESPECT the viewers AMC and OLTL

    ReplyDelete
  25. Is anyone really surprised with this news? ABC is in the toilet thanks to us. This is something I have never seen before. They will never care about their viewers much less acknowledge their mistakes. Their cheap crappy programming is catching up quick. Katie is doomed too. Oh well ABC. What goes around comes around. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  26. ABC needs to swallow their pride and return at least one of the two serial dramas it canceled back to its daytime lineup. "Love in the Afternoon" will bring more to daytime TV. Plus a serial drama is the type of show that viewers will take the time, if not actually home LIVE, to DVR or watch online via the ABC player.

    ReplyDelete
  27. So ABC thinks viewers want more information? I guess not. I will not watch any program on ABC but GH. I was a very loyal viewer for two decades.

    ReplyDelete
  28. It's karma. I will continue to boycott ABC except for the General Hospital hour.

    ReplyDelete
  29. ABC has destroyed two of the best vintage soaps to have ever existed. Not one day passes when I am not in mourning over my beloved families of Llanview and Pine Valley. I will continue to support GH as I want to see the soap genre survive. I will NOT be watching ANYTHING else, though will take note of the sponsors so they too will be boycott. You can't just throw away 80+ yrs. of history for this garbage. Katie (what's her face) is destined to fail! Any and EVERY show you cancel and replace will sink like the Titanic. You once had a LOYAL fan base and you could get us back. You could return OLTL to our screens or give Agnes Nixon her shows back! ABC / Disney .... boycott ... all but GH. I hope Brian Frons is getting his long overdue karma. ABC, YOU have gone too far! We will NOT watch or support anything you shell out ... especially your sponsors. Please take this into consideration as you watch Katie get "Chew"ed up and spit out. Your one-time viewers ARE the "Revolution". You are just the trolls that took away generations of fond momories and devotion.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Debbie,

    Are you sure we're dealing with the same ratings here? Just doublechecking... At any rate, the ratings continue to reflect ABC's horrible decision-making. And now, the ABC affiliate serving Tupelo, MS will be going dark on 8/31. There may have been other problems plauging the affiliate, but I can personally tell you, having cut my soap teeth in the South, that losing AMC and OLTL didn't help matters

    ReplyDelete
  31. People on vacation in August? Hmm..Good luck Katie because you are going to need it...I have not watched one afternoon program on ABC besides GH since OLTL and AMC were cancelled....Bring back our soaps!

    ReplyDelete
  32. The execs at ABC are apparently willing to chop their head off before admitting the huge mistake made in cancelling our soaps. An ABC affiliate going dark, Disney stores closing, ratings tanking...it's really OK to admit that a mistake was made, ABC. Fix this now before Fall arrives and you have no viewers in primetime either...

    ReplyDelete
  33. The only time I watch ABC is when General Hospital is on, other than that it's CBS, Fox and that's about it. You think people that go on vacation don't watch t.v., I would send my family to the pool while I watched my soaps. How's it feel to have EGG all over your face?? We soap fans are not going anywhere near ABC until you put our soaps back and say you are sorry for the mistakes you have made removing our beloved soaps!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  34. Well all i have to say is way to go ABC for not listening to your viewers we wanted our soaps and you said no.You lost a primetime watcher and i only watch General Hospital if you cancel that you can kiss me goodbye on everything on ABC.Linde B

    ReplyDelete
  35. ABC sucks! I barely watch GH now either because I figure the stupid pricks will cut it too. That's ok. I will never watch ABC again, buy Disney products, or support any of the sponsors that advertise with ABC. NO MORE ABC...let's watch ABC,DISNEY, and all their SPONSORS sink!!! If you can't listen to your viewers, you don't deserve my time to watch anything you have to dish up, and if you advertise with them, you don't deserve my business either!!! BRING BACK OLTL and AMC!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree! ABC will regain full control of the rights to AMC next month, while OLTL goes back to the network in January. Put Agnes Nixon's beloved soaps back into production so you can get all your viewers back. AND DO NOT CANCEL THEM AGAIN!

      Delete
  36. ABC needs to bring our soaps back. We soaps fans are tired of stupid talk show. WE DO NOT WANT ANY MORE DAM TALK SHOWS.

    ReplyDelete
  37. This was during the Olympics, when all the ratings were down. Not that objectivity means anything anymore

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are correct, however, this still doesn't explain why The Chew has been consistently below AMC in terms of numbers, or why the Revolution or GAA have never come close to matching OLTL's numbers. Not disputing what you're saying, just giving a bigger picture focus, in case you haven't been following along.

      Delete
  38. Instead of drawing conclusions regarding viewership based on a faulty opinion you should probably take a look at General Hospital's ratings during that week, and its ratings for the last year compared to the "reality" television programming that's been touted by ABC. That would be meaningful. Or you could just continue making peanut gallery opinion pieces loaded with half-truths and assumptions. Ohhh, you know what? It wasn't vacationing, it was all those back to school sales that all the mothers were hitting... right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tristan,

      What was wrong with that opinion? I may disagree with it (and do), but it is a verifiable fact that many people in the Northeast use August as vacation time...

      Delete
    2. What's wrong with that opinion? Well... the last I checked the Northeast doesn't speak for the entire United States so the verifiable fact that the Northeast uses August to vacation has nothing to do with anything. My understanding is that ratings are pulled from all over the United States, not simply the vaulted Northeast.

      The idea that viewership is down in daytime television because... some people vacation in August is nothing more than an excuse, and not even a good one with no facts to support it.

      Delete
  39. All I can say is OH YEAH!!!!! GH is the only ABC Daytime show that has gotten better in recent months will the return of old favorites and OLTL characters. Anyone want to start a betting pool on when The Spew will be canceled?

    ReplyDelete
  40. ABC have you learned your lesson that all of your previous viewers have been trying to teach you? We do not want whatever is cheapest, we want our All My Children and One Life To Live back! Seems to me that you would have already gave up on shoving the garbage you have on down our throats, but wait, you can't do that since no one is watching. You want your viewers back bring the scripted soap operas we all love back. It's a shame to watch you tear the very fabric of daytime to shreds so I only watch what hasn't been destroyed yet, I will only watch General Hospital until AMC and OLTL are back on ABC. If they happen to find a new home, that is where I will be.

    ReplyDelete