NIELSEN NEWS

It was a good week for the P&G shows as evidenced by the latest Nielsen ratings:

1. Young and the Restless 4.2 (-.1)
2. Bold and the Beautiful 3.2 (same)
3. As the World Turns 2.6 (+.1)
4. Days of Our Lives 2.5 (same)
4. General Hospital 2.5 (same)
6. One Life to Live 2.4 (same)
7. Guiding Light 2.3 (+.2)
7. All My Children 2.3 (-.2)
9. Passions 1.4 (same)

Two big stories here:

One, after weeks of being in a tie with DOOL and GH, ATWT broke away from the pack with a solid third place (up @ a million viewers, probably due to the excitement of the Ice Storm -- Emily in labor! Lily awakens! Craig's back!).

Two, GL is up @ two million viewers during a week heavy on Josh/Reva/Billy/Cassie (a quadrangle many online fans repeatedly threatened to boycott) and the revelation of Olivia being Ava's mother.

The other interesting thing about GL is that, thanks to AMC's two point dip, the two shows are actually tied for the first time in a very long time.

It's interesting, I've been attending the Daytime Emmy Awards since 1995. Inevitably, the shows that get the most screams and cheers from the balcony dwelling fans are DOOL and GH, followed by AMC and Y&R. Such an unscientific sampling would indicate that those four should be in the top stratosphere of ratings, with everyone else left in the dust.

And while Y&R is still far and away at the head of the pack, the ABC shows appear to be in a dangerous free-fall. Anyone have any idea why that is?