The current trend in daytime TV seems to be that soap operas are on their way out. Passions and Guiding Light have both ended in the last couple years and As the World Turns will likely wrap this fall. There are also rumors that ABC may soon end one of its soaps as well.
However, there’s some good news coming out of NBC. The network plans to keep veteran sudser Days of Our Lives on the air for another year.
Days of Our Lives has been entertaining viewers daily since 1965. The serial was created by Irna Phillips, who had her hand in creating many other soaps as well and mentored fellow soap creators Agnes Nixon and William J. Bell. The cast of the series, which famously opens with sands pouring from an hourglass, includes Alison Sweeney, Peter Reckell, Kristian Alfonso, Eric Martsolf, John Aniston, Lauren Koslow, and real life married couple Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth-Hayes.
The serial has had its share of ratings slumps, followed by ratings surges. Throughout the past decade it’s been on a fairly steady decline (as most soap operas have) but has picked up recently, besting last year’s numbers by nearly 10%. It’s currently the second most-popular serial among women 18-49.
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NBC Universal Television president Jeff Zucker stated three years ago that Days of Our Lives was unlikely to continue past 2009. In November 2008, it was renewed for a maximum of 18 months, keeping it on the air until September 2010.
Despite Zucker’s earlier prediction of its demise, NBC has now come to a new agreement with Sony Pictures TV, albeit a short-term one. NBC is agreeing to keep Days of Our Lives on for another season, until September 2011.
Of the renewal, Marc Graboff, chairman of NBC Entertainment, said, “Days of Our Lives continues to be a favorite of the daytime audience and we are thrilled to keep it going through its 45th season.” He continued, “Days has shown year-to-year increases in key female demographics and remains both relevant and fresh creatively.”
While the renewal is good news for the soap’s faithful viewers, the short term agreement certainly shows that the network still isn’t committed to keeping the drama on their daytime schedule.
What do you think? Are you surprised that NBC as renewed the soap opera? Realistically, do you think Days of Our Lives will survive past 2011?
I love Days of Our Lives. I am a 30 year old male and I have been watching it all my life. My Grandmother who died in 1987 watched it everyday and its all I have ever known. Back in those days there was no cable so thats all we had to watch and it surprises me now that with all the channels on tv it has maintained a large audience.
I really enjoy watching Days of our Lives. Right now, it is my favorite soap opera. Also, it is the only soap on NBC. The story lines and plots are excellent, and I feel like this soap will last a long time. Also, the ratings are high in the Neilson ratings. I do not want them to cancel this soap. It will be a huge mistake.
Love, Love, Love this show! I have watch it since I was a girl, Sami and I are the same age we grew up together, I would be heart broken if this went off the air!
This show began when I was a toddler. I have watched it since 1965. These characters are much like television friends and family. Please do not cancel this series.
I’ve watched this show on and off for years,starting way back w/ my grandma.Thirty years later I still watch. I burn it on dvd everyday.
surprised that its staying on the of john and marlania i thought would be it
I’ve been watching DOOL since Alison Sweeney (Sami) came to Salem and i am still watching it.
I love Days because i get to see Salems’ resident bad girl Sami Brady. She is my favorite character and she is always in some drama so that makes it worth watching.
Please keep Days around.
Pls keep it going! Have been a fan for many years and I can’t think of day with DAYS!
PLEASE KEEP “DAYS OF OUR LIVES” GOING FOREVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been listening since it’s beginning in 1965 & have rarely ever missed a show, thanks to recordings. It is part of my life & my children’s too !!!! A real therapeutic aid to the stress of today’s life. Please let us know what we have to do to help keep this on the air.
Thank you !!!!
i know lots and lots of people who watch this show and i think it will def. be on for many years to come. its the only soap that i still hear people talking about.
This show NEEDS to stay on! I will be so depressed if it ends. The women in my family have been watching it for years; I grew up watching it. And as someone already mentioned, it’s helping me get through college right now! It’s my comfort show, it really is and I love it and really don’t want to give it up.
I have been watching days since I was a toddler with my mom. I am 24 now. My mom would record it on video tape every day so I could watch it when I got home from school. I am so happy now I can watch online in the evenings before bed and catch up. This is my favorite show, and my escape!! I hope they don’t take days off the air. Now, my daughter watches it with me and I think it would be really cool if the tradition could be passed down 🙂 .. also, I work in… Read more »
We need to rally to bring some of the Hortons back in the story lines. I am very disgusted with the Bo and Carly synopsis. This will ruin ratings.
I think Bo and Carly are good together and have great chemistry!! Bo and Hope were getting too boring! If they want to keep them together they will end up like Marlena and John and be off the show
I absolutely love Days of Our Lives! I have watched it since day one. I have also missed many episodes, but I go online and read about them. Now I am always a day ahead! I love it! I will feel lost if it goes off the air.
I do not know what NBC plans but can only hope as a dedicated viewer that they will keep airing the show. Not all people enjoy watching court shows and talk TV. I for one will turn the TV off before watching any thing else on daytime TV.
I hope it stays on even longer than the new renewal period. I’ve watched this soap for years!
It got me through college by giving me a reprieve in my day to sit back and relax before I had to get back to my studies. And now that I’m home a lot during the day it does the same, giving me a short way to sit back and not think about anything. I would hate to see it be discontinued.