Whoever said soaps were dying sure didn’t have a reliable crystal ball: “General Hospital” is at it again with yet another week of climbing ratings!

As the show’s 50th Anniversary continued through the week of April 8, the show saw an 18-month high in women ages 18-49, placing it in the number two spot in the demos and — you better believe it — generating the biggest year-to-year increase of any broadcast daytime program! Read on for the official press release containing more information regarding “GH’s” upsweep:

via Press Release

“General Hospital’s” 50^th Anniversary Celebration Continues
Soars to 18-Month Highs in Women 18-49 and Women 25-54
Posts Biggest Year-to-Year Gains of Any Daytime Broadcast Program,
Boasting Double-Digit Percent Increases Across the Board
Monday’s Continuation of ‘Nurses’ Ball’ Storyline Produces Near
20-Month High in Women 25-54 and 4-Month High in Women 18-49

During the week of April 8, “General Hospital” continued its 50th anniversary celebration, soaring to 18-month highs in Women 18-49 (721,000/1.1 rating) and Women 25-54 (927,000/1.5 rating) – since week of 9/26/11 – placing a solid #2 for the week in the demos and climbing by double digits year to year across all target demos.

In fact, “General Hospital” generated the biggest year-to-year increases of any broadcast daytime program, surging by 29% in Total Viewers (2.87 million vs. 2.22 million), by 31% in Women 18-49 (721,000 vs. 550,000) and by 22% in Women 25-54 (927,000 vs. 760,000).

• Monday’s telecast, returning to the ‘Nurses Ball’ storyline, stood as the series’ most-watched telecast in nearly 20 months in Women 25-54 (1.02 million) and in close to 4 months in Women 18-49 (789,000) – since 8/15/11 and 12/18/12, respectively.

Source: NTI, U.S. ratings, week of 4/8/13, Live + Same Day.