First Hockey, Now Soaps?!

Ratings for Soaps Wash Away

During the first three months of the current season, the combined ratings for soap operas airing on each of the three major networks dropped a whopping 18 percent among the target audience of female adults 18-34 years old, according to Nielsen Research. Bloomberg News reported today (Thursday) that the results so dismayed CBS ratings tracker David Poltrack that he asked Nielsen to recheck its data, which it did only to conclude that no error had been made. "Soap-opera ratings don't usually change that dramatically," Poltrack told the wire service. "They're usually fairly stable." Peter Butchen of ad-buyer Initiative Media commented that the audience flight is "a huge concern to advertisers." Lyle Schwartz of Mediaedge:cia added: "I don't recall ever seeing this type of decline."

Why is everything I love on the ropes?