One Life To Live - Broadcast History

Broadcast History

ABC cemented its reputation as a youth-oriented network in daytime with the addition of One Life to Live to its schedule, with much of the rest of its lineup consisting of soap operas like Dark Shadows, sitcom reruns, and game shows packaged by Chuck Barris. One Life to Live replaced the short-lived Baby Game, in a three-way shuffle with Dark Shadows and Dating Game. The network placed the new serial at 3:30 PM EST, against CBS's established hit Edge of Night and the popular NBC game You Don't Say. Despite the tough competition, the intense tone of the plot and strong characters allowed the show to get a leg up on You Don't Say, wearing that game down to the point of its cancellation in September 1969; NBC replaced the Tom Kennedy-hosted game in that time slot with three unsuccessful serials: Bright Promise, Return to Peyton Place, and How to Survive a Marriage.

One Life to Live enjoyed fair-to-middling ratings in the 1960s, but rose rapidly as it entered the 1970s, along with the rest of ABC's daytime lineup. Matters greatly improved for One Life to Live in 1972, when CBS relocated Edge of Night in response to packager Procter and Gamble's demands. The four-year-old show topped the ratings for the first time over CBS' declining Secret Storm, and later, the game Hollywood's Talking, which ran for only 13 weeks.

By 1975, NBC became a serious player in that time slot for the first time in over five years when it expanded its strong soap opera Another World to an hour, with its second half occupying the 3:30 timeslot. One Life to Live lost a substantial audience share, but its lead-in, General Hospital, experienced even worse losses. ABC then expanded both One Life to Live and General Hospital to 45 minutes, with each composing half of a 90-minute block between 2:30 PM and 4 PM. Beginning on July 26, 1976, One Life to Live assumed the first position, at 2:30. ABC bet its hopes on viewers staying tuned past the half hour, making them unlikely to switch channels to Another World and All in the Family reruns on CBS (or Match Game in the case of General Hospital fans). This approach showed some promise, until November 7, 1977, when CBS expanded Guiding Light to an hour. As One Life to Live struggled, its neighbor General Hospital was in danger of cancellation after a 15-year run. ABC then expanded One Life to Live to an hour on January 16, 1978, in the 2:00 PM timeslot (with General Hospital following at 3:00 PM); The $20,000 Pyramid was moved to noon for the rest of its ABC run to make room.

General Hospital rose rapidly to the top spot in the Nielsen ratings by 1979. As for One Life to Live, from its tenth birthday onward, its competitors declined in popularity. Search for Tomorrow, for instance, spent its last several months on CBS against the last half of One Life to Live. Its replacement, Capitol, did little better, and after its cancellation, CBS aligned As the World Turns against One Life to Live and Another World, a configuration that stayed in place until Another World's cancellation in 1999. The 1980s saw One Life to Live reach the height of its popularity, with an estimate of 9 million viewers early in the decade. The show typically ranked between the second and the fourth position in the 1980s.

Since 1991, One Life to Live returned to the middle of the pack, but its numbers declined, in common with all other soap operas. By the decade's end, the show rested near the bottom of the ratings pack, and it continued to hover around the lower reaches of the weekly ratings throughout the 2000s in terms of total number of viewers; however, the show tended to rank in the mid-range for the target demographic of women aged 18–49, often higher than sister show All My Children. During the 2000s (decade), One Life to Live ran about even with As the World Turns, with NBC's Another World replacement Passions trailing significantly.

The 2009-2010 season was a particularly difficult year for One Life to Live. During the week of June 28, 2010, the show ranked last among all soap operas with 2.1 million viewers, compared to 2.3 million for As the World Turns. As One Life to Live entered the 2010-2011 season, ratings improved, but not enough to prevent ABC from cancelling the program on April 14, 2011. After the cancellation announcement, One Life to Live began to surpass General Hospital in total number of viewers, but General Hospital continued to dominate One Life to Live in several specific categories, most notably the key demographic of women between 18 and 49 years old, usually prioritized by daytime networks. By November 2011, One Life to Live had dethroned General Hospital in every category. Overall, One Life to Live was the third highest rated program among the five remaining soap operas in its last season, trailing The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, but ahead of General Hospital and Days of Our Lives. The show averaged 2.6 million viewers on a daily basis during its final weeks. Its final episode on January 13, 2012 drew more than 3.8 millions viewers, one of the highest ratings in the history of soap opera finales.