‘Days Of Our Lives’ Cast Released From Contracts Amid Renewal Talks With NBC

[FreddyE1977]

In my lifetime, there were once 19 soap operas on the air. This would be the 1969-70 tv season. I remember being sick at home when I was around 10 and they were everywhere!

You can time travel here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969–70_United_States_network_television_schedule_(daytime)

So do I. I was never a fan of soaps. If I was home sick I'd either tune to the instructional programming on WQED
or WKBN out of Youngstown, which pre-empted the soaps for movies.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Eepeats of prime time shows like is done on cable now was also been done in the past on the big 3, Even that would be better than turning the time back over to the local stations.

If you have the resources, a smart play. Not a problem.

 

[genius]

People talk about ratings negatively only when it relates to soaps. All four soaps have better ratings and more loyal audiences than pretty much everything on the CW and pretty much every cable network. If the networks stopped treating them like it was a time filler and invested in promoting these shows (and gave them a budget) they'd benefit. Also the lack of streaming support for them with their libraries is insane, even if you just focus on what is on the air. For ABC, they own their soaps so why not throw them on Hulu or Disney Plus?

Nighttime shows have become serialized in many cases now. From sitcoms to dramas. And it seems like - for some - they don't need daytime soaps to fill that void anymore because of it. Now that prime time is doing serialization better than daytime, the only reason for soaps staying on the air is familiarity with the characters and obligation. The fact that Marlena's story has been going on for 40+ years means some have invested too much time to give up watching her.

Ratings across the board are just tanking. The entire television landscape is so diluted, they have done this to themselves. I think the cutting the cord trend is the only thing that has been helping network TV from going down even further. If you remember how the Roseanne reboot premiere was ballyhooed as this HUGE triumph, when during her original run, she pulled those same numbers every week, and so did virtually any show in the Nielsen top 20.

 

[davideduardo]

People talk about ratings negatively only when it relates to soaps. All four soaps have better ratings and more loyal audiences than pretty much everything on the CW and pretty much every cable network. If the networks stopped treating them like it was a time filler and invested in promoting these shows (and gave them a budget) they'd benefit. Also the lack of streaming support for them with their libraries is insane, even if you just focus on what is on the air. For ABC, they own their soaps so why not throw them on Hulu or Disney Plus?

The problem is not in the raw numbers, but the demographics and geographic distribution of the viewers. Older, lower income, less desirable to advertisers.

 

[Kelly A]

PAlso the lack of streaming support for them with their libraries is insane, even if you just focus on what is on the air. For ABC, they own their soaps so why not throw them on Hulu or Disney Plus?

Since much of the viewership to long-tenured soaps/novellas is over 50 years old, moving appointment-viewed shows to subscription streaming would be a death blow for the show.

Ratings across the board are just tanking. The entire television landscape is so diluted, they have done this to themselves.

That's an over-generalized statement. The networks are still doing very well. Since the beginning, networks have tried and kept or cancelled shows depending on audience interest. It's just that the competition has increased ten fold since the days of just TV networks. You call it diluted, but one has to throw a lot of spaghetti against the wall before a few strands stick.

I think the cutting the cord trend is the only thing that has been helping network TV from going down even further. If you remember how the Roseanne reboot premiere was ballyhooed as this HUGE triumph, when during her original run, she pulled those same numbers every week, and so did virtually any show in the Nielsen top 20.

If you look up the definition of 'cord cutting' in the dictionary: "The practice of canceling or forgoing a cable television subscription or landline telephone connection in favor of an alternative Internet-based or wireless service."
"the cable industry has seen a decline in television subscribers as customers engage in cord cutting"

Viewers switching to streaming subscriptions services like Hulu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and more recently Disney+, are considered "Cord Cutters".

 

[NoDakObserver]

Since much of the viewership to long-tenured soaps/novellas is over 50 years old, moving appointment-viewed shows to subscription streaming would be a death blow for the show.

Actually, I think they were referring to older episodes, not newer ones. For instance, the only soap I ever had interest in is Young and the Restless, and it would be great to see episodes from the 70s and see how it started, or how famous old storylines played out. Or see David Hasselhoff in one of his earliest acting roles. I'm sure Days of Our Lives fans and fans of other soaps, including the cancelled ones, would enjoy watching old episodes.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

You’re talking there about a fraction of a fraction. It may not be worth the effort on their part for a negligible return, if any.

 

[genius]

UPDATE: Days of our Lives has officially been renewed through 2021:

https://www.cbs.soapsindepth.com/posts/days-of-our-lives-renewed-2021-173773

 

[danderson6500]

And to think that in the '80s, college students were skipping classes in huge numbers so as not to miss "General Hospital"!

My grandmother was like that too, especially with As the World Turns, The Guiding Light, Another World, and Search for Tomorrow in the 60s. Not a college student, but just a stay at home person.