Soap Ratings Race: DAYS Hits All Time Low, General Hospital On the Rise

Things aren’t looking good for Days of Our Lives in the soap opera ratings race. The 50-year-old soap, which boasted high numbers through the fall, has sunk to an all-time low in overall viewers.

For the week ending May 27, DAYS brought in 2,081,000 million viewers, losing 91,000 from the week before and 246,000 from the same week the previous year. The soap also hit a record low in the coveted 18-49 female demographic, pulling in 63,000 viewers, down 63,000 from the week before and 114,000 from the year before. DAYS continued its slump, with lower numbers in each women’s demographic.

Some attribute the downturn to inconsistent story telling over the last several months. The soap seems to air one standout episode a month that has every daytime element fans crave, but then falls short the rest of the time. In addition, many fans have grown weary of the teen scene dominating the show.

In contrast, “General Hospital” saw rising numbers that same week. The lone ABC sudser pulled in 2,886,000 viewers, up 122,000 from the week before and 30,000 from the same time last year. It also pulled in a larger audience from the previous week in each of the female demographics, but was slightly down from the previous year in the same categories.

While GH and DAYS ranked number 3 and number 4 of the four remaining daytime soaps, “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful” maintained their number 1 and 2 spots. However, both soaps were down viewers from the week before and year before.