Soap Opera Ratings Race: Good News for CBS Soaps, Bad News for DAYS and GH

The soap opera ratings race for the week ending September 16 found the CBS soaps on the rebound and a slow fall for both Days of Our Lives and General Hospital.

The Young and the Restless
After a few bad weeks, numbers improved for The Young and the Restless, which pulled in an average of 4,751,000 viewers, up 127,000 from the week before and 237,000 from the year before. The perpetually number one soap gained viewers in each major female demographic from the week before but lost ground from the same time last year.

The Bold and the Beautiful
Sister soap The Bold and the Beautiful retained its number two spot and garnered 3,734,000 viewers on average, up 35,000 from the previous week and 186,000 from the previous year. However, like Y&R, it gained viewers from the week before in each women’s demographic but lost viewers from the year before.

General Hospital
General Hospital remained in third place, pulling in 2,535,000 viewers on average. It also lost 85,000 viewers from the week before and 200,000 from the same time last year. It also lost viewers from the previous week and previous year in each women’s demographic.

Days of Our Lives
Days of Our Lives retained its last place position, garnering 2,157,000 viewers on average, down 92,000 from the week before and 228,000 from the same time last year. Unlike General Hospital, it gained viewers from the week before in 18-49 and 18-34 female demographics but lost in each demo from the same time last year.