Craig Sjodin/ABC

Prior to our posting the press release from the Disney/ABC Television Stations Group which revealed the premiere date of “Katie,” Soap Opera Network learned via its sources that ABC had quietly been informing their affiliates of the pending cancellation of “The Revolution,” which has greatly underperformed in key demographics and viewership compared to the series it replaced (“One Life to Live“) back in January.

While this in no way guarantees “General Hospital‘s” placement on the Fall 2012-2013 ABC Daytime schedule once the network cedes the soaps timeslot to affiliates beginning Monday, September 10, the fact that “GH” continuously increases its audience over the performance of “Revolution” in all categories including an uptick of over 900,000 viewers (2.34 million for “GH” vs 1.40 million for “Revolution”), a 100% gain in Women 18-49 rating (1.0 demo for “GH” vs 0.5 for “Revolution”), and a 66% gain in Women 18-34 rating (0.5 for “GH” vs 0.3 for “Revolution”) during the week of March 5-9, 2012 places “GH” in a better position of continuing beyond this summer.

As previously reported, a decision on the future of “General Hospital” is expected to be made in mid-April. Should the soap continue beyond the launch of “Katie,” it is expected to move to 2:00 PM ET/1:00 PM PT/CT timeslot on the ABC Television Network.

Disney/ABC Television Group

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — On June 6, 2011, ABC finally announced (after months of rumors) that it had signed a deal with former “CBS Evening News” anchor Katie Couric to host a new daily syndicated talk show, and that said show would replace veteran soap opera “General Hospital” in the 3:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT/CT timeslot. Initially the decision brought fear to soap opera fans, who only two months prior learned that ABC Daytime’s two other veteran soaps (“All My Children” and “One Life to Live“) would be replaced by two new food and lifestyle centered talk shows (“The Chew” and “The Revolution“). Now nearly a year since the announcement it looks like Katie Couric may just be the lifesaver “General Hospital” desperately needs.

According to TV Guide‘s Michael Logan, sources have informed him that the talk show host and her executive producer (former NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker) have expressed their concern to the Disney/ABC Television Group brass, producers of her new talk show, in regards to the poor ratings performance that has been “The Revolution” – Since the talk shows debut in January the program hovers at just over 1.5 million viewers on average. By comparison, “One Life to Live,” which “Revolution” replaced, averaged more than 2.3 million viewers on average and performed better in key sales demos during the same period of time on the year-ago. “Couric and Zucker want to see ’GH’ get that slot because it’s a stronger show, Nielsen-wise, plus Couric does not want to face the wrath of ‘GH’ fans and risk the chance they’ll organize a boycott. Who the hell needs that? So she and Zucker want ‘The Revolution’ to go bye-bye,” the website stated.

With “General Hospital’s” recent uptick in key demos and total viewers since the new dynamic duo of Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati (executive producer and head writer) debuted just a few short weeks ago, for the first time in over a year the soap finally has a fighting chance, but will ABC listen? “They may not have a choice,” said Logan. “In fact, they might even agree at this point. Our spies at Times Square Studios — the new tag for ABC Daytime — tell us the commitment to nonscripted shows remains firm in the ABC daypart but no one is doing handstands over the ones currently in development, which include a doctor show and a game show. While ABC technically has time (though not much) to replace ‘The Revolution’ with more reality, that option is looking way too chancy.”

Should ABC end up keeping “GH” on the air and canceling “The Revolution,” the soap will move to the 2:00 PM ET/1:00 PM CT/PT timeslot beginning in September. According to sources, a decision on the eventual outcome on either series will not be made until at least mid-April.

What Do You Think? Sound Off! below.

Thomas A. Montalto/MontaltoPhotos.com

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) – Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati, who took over the reigns as ABC’s new executive producer and head writer for “General Hospital,” are now on the world wide web courtesy of Twitter, the social networking media giant.

A “General Hospital” spokesperson has confirmed to Soap Opera Network that Valentini joined Twitter  on Wednesday, March 7 and his handle is @valentinifrank. Valentini is fastly approaching 3,000 followers in that short period of time. Carlivati, whose handle is @carlivatiron, actually joined Twitter back in March of 2011, but wasn’t very active until around December 14, 2011. Since then he’s made nearly 300 tweets (discussions with actors, fans, etc) and retains over 7,000 followers.

Donna Svennevik/ABC

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — “General Hospital” is the only soap opera left on the ABC Daytime schedule and is also the longest running dramatic series in the networks history. Unfortunately, the soap is facing the same cancellation danger that its former network counterparts (“All My Children” and “One Life to Live“) faced just over a year ago before ABC officially announced the two would go off the air in a press release. Before any decision on the future of “GH” is ultimately made, the drama series is showing an uptick in key demos and viewership.

For the week of February 27 – March 2, 2012, “General Hospital” averaged 2.4 million viewers (highest since week of January 9, 2012), 657,000 Women 18-49 viewers (18-week high) and 871,000 Women 25-54 viewers (three-month high) per ratings details released today by Marc Berman of TV Media Insights. Compared to its performance during the week of February 20-24, 2012, “GH” increased its Women 18-49 performance by 59,000 viewers and retained a similar overall viewership total. By comparison, “The Revolution,” which hit its second most-watched week since its debut (week of January 16, 2012), averaged just 1.62 million viewers.

“The Revolution” is down 23 percent in total viewers, 27 percent in Women 25-54 rating, 38 percent in Women 18-49 rating and 40 percent in Women 18-34 rating compared to “One Life to Live’s” performance on the year-ago (week of February 28, 2011).

For more ratings information on “The Revolution,” “The Chew,” “The Talk” and “The View,” check out TV Media Insights.

ABC Press Release:

“The Chew” posted a 7-week high in Total Viewers (2.489 million – since week of 1/9/12), climbing by an impressive 11% over “All My Children’s” year-ago delivery (vs. 2.249 million), by 10% in Women 25-54 (1.1 rating vs. 1.0 rating) and tying in Women 18-34 (0.4 rating) and Women 18-49 (0.7 rating).

“General Hospital” recorded 18-week highs in Women 18-49 (657,000) and Women 25-54 (871,000), since the week of 10/24/11, a 13-week high in Women 18-34 (172,000 – since the week of 11/28/11) and a 7-week high in Total Viewers (2.403 million – since the week of 1/9/12).

“The Revolution” delivered its most-watched week in Women 25-54 (485,000 – tied debut week) and 2nd-most-watched week to date in Total Viewers (1.624 million) and Women 18-49 (351,000), behind only its premiere week, posting an impressive 4th consecutive week of gains in Total Viewers.

Moreover, Friday’s show was the series’ #2 telecast ever in Women 25-54 (531,000), while Wednesday’s show was its #4 telecast to date in Total Viewers (1.761 million).

Donna Svennevik/ABC

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — “General Hospital” DVR Alerts for the Week of March 12, 2012.

GENERAL HOSPITAL: DVR ALERTS

• Monday: A showdown begins. Dante and Lulu are puzzled. Steve’s past is discussed.

• Tuesday: John McBain (“One Life to Live‘s” Michael Easton) arrives in Port Charles… why? Maxie is guilt-ridden. Anthony works on Johnny accepting an offer from Kate.

• Wednesday: A big event takes place in Port Charles. A bickering match between Monica and Tracy. Jason makes a request.

• Thursday: Sam gets Alexis and Molly on board. Jason gets a visitor at the hospital. Patrick’s upset.

• Friday:  Jason and Sam get heated. Sonny confronts Kate. Maxie is going crazy.

Legion College

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — “General Hospital” makes some additions to the writing staff.

Two former “One Life To Live” script writers Scott Sickles and Elizabeth Page has joined the “GH” writing staff.  Also, joining the “GH” team is David Rupel, who is an executive producer for Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills“.  Rupel returns to “GH” where he was a breakdown writer from 1999-2001.  He also wrote for “Guiding Light” in 2002 and from 2006-2009.

Leaving “GH” is Janet Iacobuzio who just rejoined a few months ago.

For discussion on these topics and more, join us in the Writers/Directors thread at the SON Community.

Disney/ABC Television Group

NOTE: Please do not copy and paste the entire ratings. Thank you.

Numbers are based on Live+Same Day ratings

(Compared to Last Week/Compared to Last Year)

Total Viewers
1. Y&R 5,061,000 (+274,000/-121,000)
2. B&B 3,471,000 (+137,000/+281,000)
3. DAYS 2,528,000 (+104,000/-191,000)
4. GH 2,209,000 (-348,000/-471,000)

Households
1. Y&R 3.7/11 (+.1/+.1)
2. B&B 2.5/8 (same/+.2)
3. DAYS 1.9/6 (+.1/-.1)
4. GH 1.6/4 (-.3/-.4) ß———– new low *

* Previous low: 1.7/5 (January 2-6, 2012)

Women 18-49 Viewers
1. Y&R 960,000 (+82,000/-86,000)
2. B&B 697,000 (+45,000/+97,000)
3. DAYS 597,000 (+47,000/-180,000)
4. GH 530,000 (-98,000/-296,000) ß———– new low *

* Previous low: 550,000 (December 26-30, 2011)

Women 18-49 Rating
1. Y&R 1.5/9 (+.1/-.1)
2. B&B 1.1/6 (+.1/+.2)
3. DAYS 0.9/5 (same/-.3)
4. GH 0.8/4 (-.2/-.5) ß———– new low *

* Previous low: 0.9/5 (January 2-6, 2012)

Women 18-34 Rating
1. Y&R 0.7/5 (same/-.1)
2. DAYS 0.5/3 (same/-.3)
2. B&B 0.5/3 (same/same)
4. GH 0.4/2 (-.1/-.3) ß———– ties low

Men 18+ Viewers
1. Y&R 1,211,000 (+80,000/-31,000)
2. B&B 788,000 (-5,000/+49,000)
3. DAYS 547,000 (+46,000/-52,000)
4. GH 466,000 (-66,000/-75,000)

Day-To-Day Ratings (Households/Total Viewers)

B&B
Monday: 2.5/3,625,000
Tuesday: 2.5/3,376,000
Wednesday: 2.6/3,539,000
Thursday: 2.5/3,238,000
Friday: 2.6/3,576,000

DAYS
Monday: 2.0/2,760,000
Tuesday: 2.0/2,580,000
Wednesday: 1.8/2,486,000
Thursday: 1.8/2,387,000
Friday: 1.8/2,428,000

GH
Monday: 1.7/2,411,000
Tuesday: 1.7/2,324,000
Wednesday: 1.6/2,137,000
Thursday: 1.5/2,004,000
Friday: 1.6/2,171,000

Y&R
Monday: 3.8/5,405,000
Tuesday: 3.7/5,093,000
Wednesday: 3.7/5,223,000
Thursday: 3.5/4,629,000
Friday: 3.5/4,957,000

For the SEASON September 19, 2011 through January 22, 2012

Households
1. Y&R 3.6
2. B&B 2.5
3. DAYS 2.0
4. GH 1.9

Women 18-49 Rating
1. Y&R 1.5
2. DAYS 1.1
2. GH 1.1
4. B&B 1.0

Ratings Archive

Disney/ABC Television Group

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Ratings Report for the Week of January 9-13, 2012

NOTE: Please do not copy and paste the entire ratings.  Thank you.

Numbers are based on Live+Same Day ratings

(Compared to Last Week/Compared to Last Year)

Total Viewers
1. Y&R 4,787,000 (-132,000/-348,000)
2. B&B 3,334,000 (-118,000/+273,000)
3. OLTL 3,120,000 (+407,000/+439,000) *
4. GH 2,557,000 (+263,000/-295,000)
5. DAYS 2,424,000 (-84,000/-548,000)

* Highest since September 3-7, 2007

Households
1. Y&R 3.6/11 (same/-.1)
2. B&B 2.5/8 (same/+.3)
3. OLTL 2.3/7 (+.3/+.3) *
4. GH 1.9/5 (+.2/-.2)
5. DAYS 1.8/6 (-.1/-.3)

* Last time at 2.3 was November 19-23, 2007

Women 18-49 Viewers
1. Y&R 878,000 (-57,000/-127,000)
2. OLTL 784,000 (+148,000/+149,000)
3. B&B 652,000 (-24,000/+72,000)
4. GH 628,000 (+23,000/-203,000)
5. DAYS 550,000 (-55,000/-305,000)

Women 18-49 Rating
1. Y&R 1.4/9 (-.1/-.1)
2. OLTL 1.2/7 (+.2/+.2)
3. B&B 1.0/6 (-.1/+.1)
3. GH 1.0/6 (+.1/-.3)
5. DAYS 0.9/5 (same/-.4)

Girls 12-17 Viewers
1. OLTL 63,000 (+1,000/+32,000)
2. GH 33,000 (+12,000/-9,000)
3. B&R 29,000 (same/-8,000)
4. B&B 12,000 (-20,000/-16,000)
5. DAYS 4,000 (-15,000/-37,000)

Women 18-34 Rating
1. Y&R 0.7/4 (+.1/-.1)
1. OLTL 0.7/4 (+.1/+.2)
3. DAYS 0.5/3 (same/-.3)
3. B&B 0.5/3 (same/+.1)
3. GH 0.5/3 (+.1/-.2)

Men 18+ Viewers
1. Y&R 1,131,000 (-31,000/-101,000)
2. B&B 793,000 (+30,000/+130,000)
3. OLTL 643,000 (+100,000/+110,000)
4. GH 532,000 (+89,000/-35,000)
5. DAYS 501,000 (+8,000/-192,000)

Day-To-Day Ratings ñ HH/Total Viewers

B&B
Monday: 2.4/3,371,000
Tuesday: 2.4/3,175,000
Wednesday: 2.6/3,389,000
Thursday: 2.6/3,305,000
Friday: 2.6/3,429,000

DAYS
Monday: 1.9/2,508,000
Tuesday: 1.7/2,304,000
Wednesday: 1.8/2,322,000
Thursday: 1.9/2,527,000
Friday: 1.9/2,458,000

GH
Monday: 1.8/2,445,000
Tuesday: 1.8/2,309,000
Wednesday: 1.8/2,478,000
Thursday: 2.0/2,764,000
Friday: 2.0/2,790,000

OLTL
Monday: 2.0/2,807,000
Tuesday: 2.1/2,719,000
Wednesday: 2.1/2,925,000
Thursday: 2.4/3,302,000
Friday: 2.7/3,848,000

Y&R
Monday: 3.5/4,745,000
Tuesday: 3.5/4,602,000
Wednesday: 3.6/4,946,000
Thursday: 3.7/4,741,000
Friday: 3.7/4,903,000

For the SEASON September 19, 2011 through January 15, 2012

Households
1. Y&R 3.6
2. B&B 2.4
3. OLTL 2.1
4. DAYS 2.0
5. GH 1.9

Women 18-49 Rating
1. Y&R 1.5
2. DAYS 1.1
2. GH 1.1
2. OLTL 1.1
5. B&B 1.0

Ratings Archive

Ratings Comparison of Last Five Cancelled Soaps

AP

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Here is a comparison of the last five cancelled soap operas.

Note #1: Comparisons are to the shows penultimate week.

Note #2:  Passions‘ numbers are for the final NBC broadcast, not DirectTV.

Thomas A. Montalto/Montalto Photos

Just before we post the dailies, which will provide a clearer picture of “One Life to Live‘s” final week on television, ABC has revealed that the 43-year old soap ended its run as daytime’s 5th most watched program in total viewers (3,120,000), while ranking a strong second in Women 18-49 viewers (784,000) for the week of January 9-13, 2012. Only 94,000 Women 18-49 viewers separated “One Life to Live” from tying “The Young and the Restless” in that category. In Women 18-49 rating “OLTL” had a 1.2 compared to “Y&R’s” 1.4. The canceled ABC soap beat its former network and studio sibling “The View” in all key ratings categories except total viewers.

Compared to the same week last year (January 10-14, 2011) “One Life to Live” gained 439,000 total viewers (3,120,000 vs 2,681,000 viewers) and was up .2 in Women 18-49 rating (1.2 vs 1.0). In Women 18-49 viewers, the soap was up 149,000 (784,000 vs 635,000).

Check back later for a more detailed ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network.

ABC is Daytime’s #1 Network Across All Target Women Demographics

Friday’s “The Chew” – Featuring Actress Lana Parrilla of ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” – Ranks as the Show’s #1 Telecast Ever in Total Viewers, Women
18-49 and Women 25-54, and its #2 Telecast To Date in Women 18-34

“The Chew” Delivers it Most-Watched Week on Record in Women 18-49,
and its 2nd-Most-Watched Week Ever in Total Viewers

ABC Daytime

* ABC ranked as Daytime’s #1 network in Women 18-34 (0.6 rating/188,000 – tie), Women 18-49 (1.0 rating/661,000 – tie) and Women 25-54 (1.4 rating/848,000).

* This week ranked as “The Chew’s” most-watched week to date in Women 18-49 (526,000), its 2nd-most-watched week in Total Viewers (2.560 million) and 3rd-most-watched week in Women 25-54 (676,000).

* Friday’s “The Chew,” featuring actress Lana Parrilla of ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” became the series’ #1 telecast to date in Total Viewers (2.774 million), Women 18-49 (617,000) and Women 25-54 (784,000), and its #2 telecast on record in Women 18-34 (232,000).

Following are the Daytime Lineup averages, plus Top 5 Programs Ranks in Women 18-49 (sorted by) and Women 25-54: