Soap Opera Ratings Race: Mixed Numbers For All Four Soaps As 2017 Came To A Close

The soap opera ratings race for the week ending December 15 sees two soaps on the rise and two soaps losing ground.

The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless (YR), which seems to be in free fall some weeks, earned back some viewers. The perpetually number one-rated soap garnered 4,556,000 viewers on average overall, up 80,000 from the week before, but down 62,000 from the year before.

Y&R also regained its number one perch with women 18-34 and 18-49, as General Hospital had overtaken it off and on throughout late fall. However, it only made gains with women 25-54.

The Bold and the Beautiful
Sister soap The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) performed the worst out of the three soaps in terms of losses, although it held onto its number two spot. B&B pulled in 3,524,000 viewers on average overall, down 79,000 from the previous week and a whopping 201,000 from the previous year.

It remained at number three in all three female demographics, losing ground from the prior week and prior year all around.

General Hospital
General Hospital (GH) made great gains the week ending December 8 but seemed to falter a bit this time around. GH garnered 2,790,000 viewers on average overall, down 110,000 from the week before, but up 156,000 from the year before.

While GH did lose viewers in all three female demos, it ranked number two in all three, just under Y&R.

Days of Our Lives
Days of Our Lives (DOOL) continued its slow rise, pulling in 2,330,000 viewers on average overall, up 12,000 from the previous week, but down 6,000 from the previous year.

DAYS was the only soap to make gains from the prior year in all three female demos.