Daytime Nielsen Ratings June 23-27, 2008

From the ABC Daytime ratings release: * Easily Daytime's No. 1 network, ABC clinched its 7th consecutive victory among Women 18-49 (1.3 rating/864,000), towering over NBC (1.1 rating/749,000) and CBS (1.1 rating/716,000) by 18%. * Daytime's No. 1 program for the second week in a row in Women 18-34, "General Hospital" (1.2 rating/394,000) delivered its best ratings in five months (since week of 1/21/08) in the key youthful demo. * In Women 18-34, ABC delivered 4 of Daytime's Top 5 programs, marking the 12th straight week the net has placed at least 3 shows in the Top 5: "General Hospital" (No. 1, 1.2 rating/394,000), "The View" (No. 2T, 1.0 rating/340,000), "One Life to Live" (No. 2T, 1.0 rating/329,000) and "All My Children" (No. 5T, 0.8 rating/257,000). * In Women 18-49, all ABC programs positioned as Top 5 players in Daytime for the fourth time in five weeks, marking the 12th week in a row the net has placed at least 3 programs in the Top 5: "General Hospital" (No. 2, 1.5 rating/985,000), "One Life to Live" (No. 3T, 1.3 rating/859,000), "The View" (No. 3T, 1.3 rating/839,000), and "All My Children" (No. 5T, 1.2 rating/772,000). * Scoring Top 5 ranks in target young Women, "One Life to Live" surpassed time period competitor CBS' "As the World Turns" by a significant 78% in Women 18-34 (329,000 vs. 185,000) and by 34% in Women 18-49 (859,000 vs. 640,000). * With its most dominant victory in recent weeks, "General Hospital" surpassed time period competitor CBS' "Guiding Light" by a substantial 172% in Women 18-34 (394,000 vs. 145,000), by 75% in Women 18-49 (985,000 vs. 564,000) and by 33% in Total Viewers (2.80 million vs. 2.11 million). Following are the Daytime Lineup averages, plus Top 5 Programs Ranks - Week of June 23, 2008:Daytime Rank: Total Viewers Women 18-49 (Rtg/000s) No. 1 CBS 3.46 million No. 1 ABC 1.3/864,000 (+2,000) No. 2 ABC 2.78 million No. 2 NBC 1.1/749,000 (-4,000) No. 3 NBC 2.57 million No. 2 CBS 1.1/716,000 (+18,000) Top 5 Daytime Programs in Women 18-49 (rank based on rating)Program Net Rtg/000s The Young & the Restless CBS 1.6/1.02 million (-40,000) General Hospital ABC 1.5/985,000 (-57,000) One Life to Live ABC 1.3/859,000 (-8,000) The View ABC 1.3/839,000 (-44,000) All My Children ABC 1.2/772,000 (-2,000) Bold and the Beautiful CBS 1.2/778,000 (-5,000)

Lauper and ATWT Lived Up To The Hype

I have to admit that with all the hype surrounding Cyndi Lauper's appearance on AS THE WORLD TURNS today, I was afraid of a couple of things: 1) Most of the "good stuff" had been revealed in various behind the scenes clips 2) The Noah and Luke scenes would be short and choppy like usual and way too much of the story would be left to our imagination. I went into it hoping for the best. This was daytime's first gay pride celebration and a lot of potential new fans might be checking out ATWT today. Boy, did they not let me down. They not only lived up to the hype, they far exceeded it. 1 The show opened with Luke introducing himself to Cyndi as a writer for Oakdale U's school newspaper. He wondered why she would bring her True Colors Tour to a small town like Oakdale. She told him that small towns were so important since there tends to be less of a support system for gays. Later, Noah showed up with Tony, the "hot tub" guy from February, which lead Luke to tell Cyndi that they were broken up. She wasn't buying it claiming she was psychic and she knew they would get back together. She went on to perform "Into the Nightlife," her infectious new single, and then dedicated "True Colors" to Luke and Noah. The performance given by Van Hansis during "True Colors" was a masterpiece. I know Emmy voters don't appreciate subtlety and nuance but very few actor in daytime could have pull off the performance he gave today as Cyndi sang directly to him. That's what makes him so good. By the end of the song, Noah told Luke they needed to talk. Outside, Noah told Luke he was the only one for him and he wanted to be together. They shared the first of two kisses during the episode. The episode with a bit of a downer as Noah told Luke he couldn't be alone with him at the farm because he had enlisted in the Army, and had to leave to be processed in Chicago tomorrow. Despite not ending on a happier note, the show had served its purpose. Luke and Noah were brought back together and then seemingly torn apart again. In this single hour I laughed, I cried, I cheered and I even danced. What more could you ask for from a soap? It was pure entertainment from beginning to end. It's very rare I can say that these days. This is where I get personal. As a gay man of 38 who has watched soaps his entire life, I never thought I would see a show like today. I was incredibly moved when Cyndi was singing "True Colors" to Luke. Not only was I thinking about Luke's journey and how the words were true for him, I was thinking about myself and how I couldn't believe I was watching a gay pride event on AS THE WORLD TURNS on an episode which prominently featured a gay couple, Luke and Noah. There are days I feel the world is not very accepting and there are days when ATWT frustrates me to no end with the Luke and Noah storyline and the lack of airtime. But today was a day to celebrate how far we've come. Thank you to AS THE WORLD TURNS for telling a story no one else on daytime will tell. No matter how much hype other shows and producers and writers may get, no one can take away the groundbreaking storyline you have created and the special episode you created today. You are the only daytime soap who has shown the courage to tell a continuing love story for two gay men. This was not just a good soap episode. It meant something to me. And to lots of fans. Please continue to remember how "real" this story is for a lot of people and treat it with the sensitivity and class it deserves. Here are the clips today including both of Cyndi's fantastic performances.

Today's Soap Star Birthdays

Bill Hayes (Doug, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 83 Scott Holroyd (ex-Paul, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 33 Kari Schlamann (Hannah, SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES) - 26

News Brief

The Nuke Fancast: Episode #6 Hilarious recap of last week's Luke and Noah scenes, the fans question of the week and the always touching "How Nuke Changed My Life" segment. 1 Checking in with ATWT's Austin Peck "I have to take off my hat to the writers, because everything I have been able to do as an actor started with what they have given me," Peck says. "They've allowed me to be goofy, to be silly, to be arrogant and obnoxious -- childlike, actually, like a big puppy dog. They see that's a big part of my personality, so they write toward that." INTERVIEW: Former AMC and current ARMY WIVES star Kim Delaney On reprising her role as Jenny on ALL MY CHILDREN if asked: "Uh-huh. I would do it. I love Agnes Nixon. I love the whole show. But I can't [now] — I have no time!" SOAPNet plans BEVERLY HILLS 90210 beach marathon On Saturday, July 26th, SOAPNet will glory in the 50 hottest moments of the original Fox series. From 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., ET/PT, three beach-oriented episodes of the show will be shown back-to-back-to-back, with six interstitials that will reveal from 1-50, the hottest "moments" in BH 90210 history. PHOTOS: Now it's the boys' turn... The HOLLYOAKS hunks strut their stuff 1 Not to be outdone by their female colleagues from Channel 4 soap HOLLYOAKS, the boys have stripped off...just weeks after the girls did the same. The HOLLYOAKS hunks were in Mallorca shooting the official 2009 calender and they certainly did not disappoint. It turned into more of a battle of the six packs then a friendly lark about the sun as the lads stripped off and showed the photographers what they were made of during the shoot. Deep Soap: Don’t Knock It Until You Try It Sara A. Bibel blogs: "Earlier this week I attended a networking event for people who work in New Media. (I figure I qualify now that I’m a blogger.) Hundreds of people crowded into a bar. We all attempted to schmooze over the loud music. I was introduced to the friend of a friend. When the small talk led to my soap writing past he said, 'I hope you won’t find this offensive but…' In my opinion, if you have to start a sentence that way with someone you’ve just met, it’s better to keep your mouth shut. He kept going. 'So is writing for soaps considered to be like writing for the National Enquirer? Do you just sit around throwing out crazy ideas?' It never ceases to amaze me how people who don’t watch soaps think they know about them. Most non-watchers think all soaps are as unrealistic as Passions. I try to explain that most shows take themselves more seriously, but they rarely believe it. These non-viewers have no qualms about telling me how the soap writing process works."