Hammond On Cannes: French Hero Jerry Lewis On His Return To … 
Cannes: Another Jewelry Heist? $2.6M Necklace Missing After … 
‘Hangover III’ With Weak $11M Wed/Thurs Kicks … 
Hammond On Cannes: Leo DiCaprio’s Moon Trip Tops … 
Specialty B.O. Preview: ‘Before Midnight’, … 
2012-2013 Season Network Rankings: CBS Sweeps In Final … 
Full 2012-2013 TV Season Series Rankings 
TOLDJA! Paramount Pocketing $190M From Disney For Marvel … 
‘Good Morning America’ Hits 19-Year Viewership … 
MGM Buys ‘Modern Family’ Producer Ben … 
‘Fashion Police’ Writers Chant On Picket Lines: … 
Universal Makes Seven-Figure Deal For ‘The School For … 
Steven Soderbergh Will Interrupt Retirement To Direct And … 
Cannes: EOne Announces Itself As Player In U.S. … 
Will LIN TV Stations Go Dark On Time Warner Cable? 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Modern Family’, ‘Law … 
Hammond On Cannes: Paramount’s ‘Nebraska’ … 
Hot Trailer: Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s ‘Don … 
Hammond On Cannes: A New Day Comes To The Fest As HBO and … 
Cannes: Fleming Reflects And Finds Talented Trio A Breath … 
Hot Trailer: ‘Man Of Steel’ 
UPDATE TURSDAY AM: No miracle bounce for Revolution, which slipped a fraction to a new series low of 1.32 million viewers for the week of March 19. General Hospital (2.25million) was steady, while The Chew (2.04 million) was down 5%.
PREVIOUS: With the deadline looming for ABC to make a decision about which shows will take the two remaining daytime slots on its schedule next fall, things are looking brighter for the network’s embattled soap General Hospital. It is still the least-watched among the four surviving daytime dramas on ABC, CBS and NBC, averaging 2.3 million viewers for the most recent week we have data for (March 12-16). But the series had a ratings uptick recently (it hit an 18-week high among women 18-49, 657,000, for the week of March 5, which featured the death of a character), and in the female demo, it’s been actually running ahead of NBC’s Days Of Our Lives.
But boosting GH‘s chances of survival the most is the poor ratings performance of new lifestyle series The Revolution. ABC has given the series time to find its legs — it only premiered in January — but I hear the network brass are starting to lose faith in the show, which hit series lows for the last two weeks with Nielsen data. For the week of March 5, it drew 1.4 million viewers, and for the week of March 12 — 1.33 million viewers. Compare that to 2.25 million for GH and 2.14 million for The Chew for the week of March 12; that 2.14 million was a 10-week low for The Chew but still dwarfed The Revolution’s viewership. The two lifestyle series were introduced this season as replacements for departing soaps All My Children and One Life To Live. While The Chew has consistently delivered more than 2.1 million viewers, peaking at 2.6 million in December, The Revolution never took off despite airing behind The Chew. What’s more, The Chew‘s ratings are actually on par with those of the soap it replaced, AMC, at a fraction of the cost, sealing the new show’s status as a keeper. Meanwhile, The Revolution is down 40% from OLTL‘s numbers.
Related: Why ‘General Hospital’ Fans Could Hate Katie If Soap Cancelled
Even with those mediocre ratings, given the cost structure of producing a talk show vs. a soap, Revolution still may make sense financially for ABC. But I hear the network’s executives don’t feel strong enough about the middling newcomer to kill its only remaining daytime drama for it, completely alienating soap fans who are already miffed by ABC’s decision last year to yank AMC and OLTL. Also, if ABC keeps The Chew and The Revolution intact in their current 2 PM and 3 PM slots, the latter would serve as a lead-in to the upcoming Katie Couric talk show. Both ABC and Couric have a lot riding on the success of the show and will likely try to give it the best shot possible. That includes a strong lead-in. Among GH, The Chew and The Revolution, GH has the highest women 18-49 average, so a pairing of The Chew and GH from 1-3 PM next season, leading into Katie, appears more and more likely. ABC’s decision is expected to come down in a couple of weeks. Last year, the network announced the cancellation of AMC and OLT on April 14 and will likely unveil its daytime plans for next season around that date again. Unless The Revolution pulls out a ratings miracle, it will likely be a short-lived one, giving GH a stay of execution for another year.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
Loading ...
Isn’t it ironic that ABC will keep GH after its ratings increased after adding characters from OLTL, but OLTL was doing better than GH when it ended.
Technically, the ratings increase was due to Robin Scorpio’s death, not due to the OLTL characters.
Linda, it’s not as if there is one clear-cut answer as to what the ratings surge was caused by. Anyone who attributes something to the ratings improvement is just making an inference. Most likely, it was a combination of Robin’s “death,” AND the OLTL characters coming over. The important thing, however, is that the ratings did go up — and “The Revolution’s” keep going down…!
If it happens and we don’t know for sure that it will it is because of the backlash ABC/D received from both AMC and OLTL fans. Many of us only watch GH. The Revulsion ratings are so low because soap fans are purposely switching away from it and then switching to GH. The fact that GH numbers are decent says volumes as we clearly do not have a lead in! I wish I could trust ABC/D to do what is right, not only for the fans but for their BRAND but we won’t know until next month just how much they have valued us! I will drop ABC like a bad habit if they drop GH.
That is ABSOLUTELY not true. READ UP. I followed the numbers (ratings) based on each OLTL who landed on GH and Starr’s entry saw the largest audience for that week of over 100,000 increase. Followed by Blair’s at 49,000 increase. Then something mysterious happened. We had two episodes where DVRs were not recording. Once with the big showdown between Todd & Sonny and again when McBain hit. It’s all over the web. We even thought that the Vets would mean an increase but Anna entry showed the numbers for that week down by 30,000.
I have been excited about watching General Hospital lately. I have been watching it for over 40 years, I love watching the old favorites come back and love the One Life to Live characters showing up. I hope some more One Life to Live characters show up.
The writing for General Hospital has gotten so much better. I can not wait to tune in everyday.
Ummm nope people keep forgetting that OLTL ratings was circling the drain 2009-2010 (& had some crappy storylines) pre cancellation announcement & GH was killing them in demos. Go to soapoperanetwork & check exactly when OLTL ratings started to improve…
Most recently, iconic characters returned Tristan/Anna, Holly…they also brought in #s a veteran beloved character Robin Scorpio (since age 7) was presumably killed off that brought in #s. Then #s started to decline GH demos are in the toilet as well…I’m not saying the OLTL crossovers didn’t help but they are not the only reason & GH has been hitting record lows these past few weeks.
yes there was a spike but it wasn’t sustained.
ABC should be concerned about “completely alienating soap fans” as many fans refuse to watch anything on ABC now other than General Hospital. They should also be concerned that Anne Sweeney stated the show with the least “eyeballs” on it will be cancelled. That is clearly The Revolution, and Ms. Sweeney will lose what little credibility she has if she fails to keep her word.
The problem with your last statement is Tv Guide already reported that ABC are already producing two new shows. So The Revolution can easily be replaced
Let hope ABC’s decision is to save GH and definitely axe The Revolution. The best thing for them would be to revive daytime tv and bring back the soaps AMC and OLTL and put Katie’s show in where Oprah used to be. Would be the best thing for Kate’s new show to have a chance with the fans. We the soap fans want all our shows back. Yes we will be happy to save GH and will continue to support in now and in the future. But we still want AMC and OLTL back…
ABC is never bringing back AMC and OLTL. Get over it. ABC didn’t cancel them with the intent of later bringing them back.
But if it makes you feel to believe that AMC and OLTL will return someday, then by all means, keep having this dream.
There really is no reason to be snide and rude. Why not be kind, it does not cost any more than being nasty.
ABC is never bringing back AMC and OLTL. Get over it. ABC didn’t cancel them with the intent of later bringing them back.
But if it makes you feel better to believe that AMC and OLTL will return someday, then by all means, keep having this dream.
YAY!! Thanks so much for this Article, Frank Valentini & Ron Carlivati needs more time to turn GH around..even though its ON FIRE Right Now! When GH Moves to the 2:00PM time slot..My TV will still only be on ABC for that 1 hour. Thanks Deadline!
You said it!!! Couldn’t have said it better myself! Keep GH! Let it see its 50th!
While talk shows do cost less to produce than GH, the way ABC is hemorrhaging daytime viewers is also not cost effective. The cancellation of OLTL has affected the network in a devastating way. The Revolution is an epic fail on so many levels. At this point giving GH another year is the smartest and most viable option for ABC to attempt to regain its daytime prominence.
wow, is ABC finally pulling their heads out of their… wallets? Have they decided to actually listen to the multitude of soap fans who have boycotted the network due to the stupidity of cancelling our soaps? How many years, no, decades, were we loyal to All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital? They can choke on The Spew and The Revulsion. The consumers simply won’t buy the product.
“What’s more, The Chew‘s ratings are actually on par with those of the soap it replaced, AMC, at a fraction of the cost, sealing the new show’s status as a keeper.”
Apparently, they are buying the product. It’s “The Revolution” that’s the problem, not the strategy itself.
Well said!!!
I really miss OLTL, I don’t know why it hasn’t been picked up by somebody else. I miss AMC but not as much. I am boycotting ABC shows and my grown up kids no longer watch ABC because the soaps were all they watched on ABC anyway. I think the only reason the CHEW did okay is because it is on around noon MST when people are at lunch and watch anything on the TV that doesn’t require you watching the whole thing. Also it aired close to Thanksgiving when food is a big deal. If GH goes then ABC network may as well go too as I won’t watch it. I slip and watch DWTS but I will stop that too.
ABC must be able to see by now the potential that General Hospital has! The least they could do for the viewers is to give it a chance! The writer and the executive producer of GH is a dream come true for GH! They know what they are doing! They are taking GH to a higher level than it has been in years! Hoping ABC has the common sense to keep it and show some of their loyal viewers loyalty for all the years of viewership! I am still heartbroken over the loss of OLTL and would like nothing better than to see OLTL reborn! Thank you for your consideration and save GH!
If they don’t use General Hospital as a lead in for Katie and cancel it instead, I am pretty sure that ABC will lose all of it’s daytime viewers!!!!! Everyone is so sick of talk shows reality shows etc. Even their prime time shows are suffering in the ratings.
ABC needs to read the writing on the wall, all the wall, not wallets of the execs at ABC. They are running ABC daytime into the ground. Removing OLTL has become the dumbest move in network history!!! The boycotts have certainly hurt the other daytime shows and primetime as well. Someone needs to use their brain and fix this mess. GH needs to stay!!! Bring back OLTL or immediately give up rights to the show so someone else can. If ABC gives up GH it would be network suicide and I guarantee Katie Couric’s show will be a failure, as the Revolution is. The execs at ABC are destroying the network and it is time for the board to send them packing and make some bold moves like bringing back OLTL!!! Everyone can see it but the idiots getting paid to make these decisions!!! LEAVE GH ALONE AND BRING BACK OLTL!!!!!
I totally agree that abc execs care more about their pockets than what is good for abc. If they bring back OLTL they will get their viewers back. Only chance Katie has is OLTL, GH & katie.
Could not have said it better. This is EXACTLY what needs to happen.
I loved OLTL and miss it terribly but it is done and will not come back, there is no studio now, no sets…everything is gone and ABC would never spend the money to start it up from scratch again. I am very proud how hard we fought for OLTL though and feel that’s what is making them look at GH differently, they do not want to allienate any more soap fans, many of us have started watching GH to see the few crossovers and they have to know what will happen if they cancel GH without a really good reason.
Please keep GH and cancel The Revolution or The Chew.
I think it was a mistake to cancel one life to live — it was experiencing ratings highs that I was almost sure that ABC would reverse its decision, it was even doing better than general hospital. Yes, talk is cheap but at what cost — alienating fans on a network that you would never guess would ever kill their soaps. I know it makes financial sense, but the revolution is just not the show.
Hopefully ABC/Disney will realize that to get and keep sponsors they need viewers. In order to have viewers they need to offer programming people want to see.
Keeping General Hospital, on the air, is their only hope of maintaining some of the audience they lost due to the cancellation of AMC and OLTL and introducing subpar programming like the Revolution.
I couldn’t agree with you more, Marji! It would be the death of ABC in my home along with millions of others if they choose to cancel GH. I think we have made that clear to TPTB at ABC/Disney and Katie Couric!
Well it’s about time that people start realizing that the extra costs to produce the soaps was well worth the money. How many self help, life improvement, your life isn’t good enough so let me tell you how to make it better shows does ABC think the veiwers need or want? Eventually the advertisers will realize the mistake of the networks’ ways and pull their spots-just as loyal veiwers have pulled their veiwership-making the new programs much more costly in the long run.
>>Well it’s about time that people start realizing that the extra costs to produce the soaps was well worth the money<<
How so? The article states that The Chew is getting ratings on par with the show it replaced, for a fraction of the cost.
Keep GH. Lose the tedious talk shows. There are too many reality and lifestyle shows that there’s very limited variety during daytime. I for one will not watch any of the shows that took a soap opera’s place. I am a longtime General Hospital fan and if that show is taken off the air for yet another boring talk show, I will be done with ABC as well.
ABC/D did a HUGE mistake cancelling OUR soaps! They (ABC/D) needs to leave GH alone and cancel The revolution because if NOT Katie Curic does NOT have a chance at ALL! I have boycotted ABC/D EXCEPT for GH and if they cancel GH I will boycott all together !
ABC/D should have know by cancelling our soaps daytime fans would make it near impossible to keep ANYTHING on daytime EXCEPT OUR SOAPS ! So ABC/D how is it going with ” FORCE FEEDING” us those reality lifestyle shows now ? I would say it is NOT going to well now is it ?
It is about time that ABC realizes that after 10 weeks this show is a flop. It does not appear ABC wants in the “soap” business but what is clear is that the daytime audience is not a fan of what is being served up in lieu of the soaps during daytime.
I hope that DABC finally realizes that Sosp fans are dedicated to soaps and will not watch replacements or any other programming they have to offer with exception on GH. Most of us have watched over 40years Please save GH and when time is up releasd AMC and OLTL back to Agnes. DABC be better than CBS and. NBC soaps genre are very much a part of our lives. Save Soap Grnre and you wll have your ratings back
My opinion – ABC daytime lineup is BORING!!! But, so are the other networks in general. Too much talk, useless information, gossip – not enough entertainment. I enjoy drama, really miss the “soaps”. On the bright side, for the first time in many years I actually leave my set off all day except for GH. Leaves time for many neglected hobbies & chores lol. I really know nothing about The Chew or Revolution – never watched. Just not interested in that type of programming. I do realize soaps are expensive to produce. However, there was a better way to address that issue than axing treasured programs. Hoping ABC/D rethinks this & brings them back into production. There are feasible ways to keep the cost in check while still giving viewers what we really want – soaps!!!!
Keep General Hospital. Cancel The Chew & The Revolution!! And while you’re at it, bring back AMC & OLTL!!!
I really hope ABC learns from it’s mistakes and listens to Katie and keeps GH on air. I have been watching for 20 years and will be so heartbroken if they do cancel. I will never watch anything on ABC if they do, as it is I only watch GH on ABC. They did not want to listen when we first started campaigning that we wanted our soaps and not more reality TV, they though we could be trained like dogs…. well who is watching your replacement shows? If you made such a good move ABC, why do you have to PAY people to sit in the audience?? SMH
ABC should have learned a valuable lesson when it removed All My Children and One Life to Live from its lineup. Particularly disturbing is the fact that not only has ABC angered the viewers of daytime drama, but The Revolution is drawing, at best, a tiny amount over half the viewers of the show it replaced, One Life to Live. If General Hospital is canceled, then ABC will have made another decision, for whatever reason, to anger viewers who have been loyal to the ABC soaps for decades. I sincerely hope ABC has come to its senses and will support,General Hospital, a great show which has shown tremendous improvement since February under its new leadership.
GH is the best soap on TV. Makes no sense to cancel. Save it!
If GH goes, so do I. As it is I only tune into it for the OLTL character crossovers. Never have and never will watch The Chew or The Revolution. With GH as a lead in I might watch Katie’s show, but if ABC is going to be so callous as to kill its last soap, count me as one less ABC daytimer. One doesn’t sound like much, but there is strength in numbers.
I know this will make sound like a geek but I am very happy The Chew is doing well. I enjoy watching it every night when I get home from work and make dinner. I love all five co-hosts, seems like they’re al very close now. I would be disappointed if The Chew were to be canceled. The Revolution is a waste of an hour. Take it out of its misery.