Daytime Ratings: Young & Restless' Viewership Nosedives Upon Return as All 4 Soaps Hit Series Lows
It seems absence did not make the hearts of Young and the Restless fans grow fonder.
After airing repeats for three-plus months due to the coronavirus shutdown, Y&R returned with original episodes the week of Aug. 10. However, a sizable chunk of the show’s audience was not there to greet it.
As first reported by Daytime Confidential, Y&R averaged a series low 2.7 million viewers for its first full week back with new episodes — down more than 1 million viewers vs. the CBS sudser’s last full week of original episodes in late April.
Y&R‘s sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful, — which returned with fresh episodes in mid-July — also sank to a series low for the week of Aug. 10, averaging 2.4 million viewers (down from 3.3 million when it left the air in April).
ABC’s General Hospital has taken less of a hit since coming back on the air earlier this month. Its most recent tally of 1.9 million viewers (also a series low) was down from 2.1 million for its last full week of new episodes in May.
Meanwhile, NBC’s Days of Our Lives — which shoots eight months in advance and therefore never ran out of fresh material — has not been spared either: Its total viewer tally dipped to a series low 1.6 million viewers for the week of Aug. 10.
As TVLine reported back in March, all four soaps initially saw their ratings surge as the majority country began quarantining at home.
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