The Chew vs. All My Children … So which show has won the Ratings War? | Michael Fairman On-Air On-Soaps | Daytime Soap Interviews, News, Updates and Previews, Video and Audio Interviews

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37 December 3rd, 2011 The Chew vs. All My Children … So which show has won the Ratings War?

The Chew

Courtesy/ABC

So now that the cooking-foodie talk show, The Chew has been firmly entrenched in the ABC Daytime lineup since the end of September, and a continual huge turn-off to the 2.5 million on average viewers who were turning into All My Children towards the end of its run, which show seems to have won the ratings war?

Well according to an item from HitFix.com, the answer is a mixed-bag citing, “Technically, The Chew won. During the week of Nov. 22, the show brought in 2.51 million viewers — slightly more than AMC’s 2.44 million during the same window last year. But The Chew can’t proclaim victory quite yet. AMC still brought in more women 25-34 (1.3 vs. 1.1 rating) and 18-34 (0.5 vs. 0.4). This must all be salt in the wound for AMC fans, who recently learned that the show, despite much ballyhoo, wouldn’t be making the transition to the Internet after all.”

And then the real slap in the face occurs at the end of this post when the reporter and writer of this piece wrapped this up by stating, “Still, it’s sad to note another nail hammered into the soap opera coffin. Though I’m more interested in getting a good recipe out of Mario Batali than having to follow a never-ending storyline on a soap, it seems the daily drama is, like the CD and MySpace, a dying dinosaur we once took for granted but is destined for the scrap heap. At least we’ll know how to make sweet potato chips at home.”

Yes a slice of reality that we all are aware of, but “destined for the scrap heap?” That visual just makes it kind of harsh for the casual or most ardent of soap fans about their beloved genre.

Tags: All My Children, HitFix.com, Ratings War, The Chew

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MEG says:

December 3, 2011 at 11:21 pm

all I’ve seen on the chew ,which is only at the end is buffoon making fools of themselves.

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MEG says:

December 3, 2011 at 11:21 pm

all I’ve seen on the chew ,which is only at the end is buffoons making fools of themselves.

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Ceridwyn2 says:

December 3, 2011 at 11:41 pm

Apparently the writer was destined for the no-brain variety if they’d rather watch that drek of an ‘information and foodie show” then allow their minds to expand with the kind of social impact storylines that soap operas can have.

Grrr.

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Amy says:

December 4, 2011 at 1:45 am

Once GH is gone. No more ABC for me, I’ll only will watch CBS or NBC and they wont be the soaps I watch it will only be primetime shows that I will watch on those channels. Unless we can NBC to buy GH and put them on their channel or some other channel that would take over GH and have it stay on for yrs to come.

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John M says:

December 4, 2011 at 2:30 am

Hey, I was raised on soaps. I pray at the altar of Beverlee McKinsey. But I am not going to lie; I watched an episode of The Chew and got the most amazing bread pudding recipe to make for Thanksgiving. And it was effing amazing. I love my soaps, but The Chew is not the problem. The bad quality of soaps is what you should be mad at.

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barbara t replied January 6th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
wow ,you must have had one hell of a thanksgiving dinner ,and getting the recipe from the chew,bread pudding,any ass can get a bread pudding recipe ,I dont really think you need to watch the chew for that .which of the 5 idiots did the recipe come from?This is interesting ,I have been wondering what kind of person watches this kind of programing.I think the chew is the bad quality show not the soaps if you want a good recipe go to the food channel.oh the hallmark channel they just canceled martha stewart the queen of recipes ,why was it canceled?low ratings.

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Diane replied February 12th, 2012 at 10:09 pm
or Google bread pudding recipe.
Sue says:

December 4, 2011 at 5:31 am

(dying dinosaur we once took for granted but is destined for the scrap heap.)

I agree with you, that last jab was insulting to soap fans. Non soap media always has that air of superiority about a “women’s medium”. A woman (or gay man) sitting in front the tv watching soaps vs. a man sitting down in front of the tv watching football. The culture treats both differently.

Of course, ‘soap’ like elements are in all kinds of shows. Any primetime show with relationship elements that continue weekly for example.

Even professional wrestling added a ‘storyline’ to their performances. I read one of the guys said it was a ‘male soap opera’. I found that interesting.

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boes says:

December 4, 2011 at 6:55 am

The writer seems like a perfect viewer for the Chew. And I suspect he/she never watched a soap. And I also suspect that the writer has a seriously short attention span.

Whatever. All I can say for sure is that I won’t be watching any of the ABC daytime lineup. I’ve watched my share of reality shows over the years, but lost interest in the genre completely about 5 years ago. Haven’t watched one single one since.

Reality programming, IMO, has already peaked as far as current viewing habits go. As usual, the networks are the last to figure that out, jumping on the bandwagon too late, as usual. They’ll load up with the cheap video junk food, and keep on wondering why they’re losing viewers.

Losers.

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Suzie Cox says:

December 4, 2011 at 7:14 am

I am a long-time soap opera fan and ABC has always been my network of choice. Contrary to popular belief, I an a Doctor of Pharmacy and work in a very demanding stressful environment in a hospital and enjoy Soap Operas as an escape from the “reality” that is my profession. I make no apologies to anyone for my avid interest in my favorite Soap Opera, General Hospital. I am NOT watching the Chew(or Spew as the case may be), will NOT be watching the Revolution, and I most definitely won’t be watching Katie Couric. How may networks has she already tanked ?. IF ABC even thinks about “canceling” GH, I’m done with them. They would lose a viewer that watches right at 20 shows altogether. I also tend to give “new” shows a chance because my TV , for the most part, is always “home” on ABC. And trust me, I am not alone in this sentiment. DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT !!!

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Linda Dowell says:

December 4, 2011 at 8:34 am

I think the Chew had ratings because it was new – we’ll see what it’s doing next year for a reality check. However ….. no matter what the ratings are – it’s got to be cheap to make versus AMC, and that’s the real issue.

The day will come when the network channels are all reality/gladiator TV, and the cable channels will have all of the good programming – and I’m so fed up with ABC that I will gladly dance on their grave – because giving up reality TV is easy for me…I’ll go watch Dexter and Mad Men and Damages (i.e. Adult Soap Operas) and they can go to hell.

It’s not soaps that are dying – it’s network TV. Just watch.

LD

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Jenna replied December 4th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
Well said.

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Rose Kunkel replied December 7th, 2011 at 8:56 am
They think these reality shows are cheap? Have they considered the salaries of Whoopie Goldberg? Ty Pendington? My God!! These guys and all other so called super stars on reality shows cost so much more than a handful of soap stars. And they (soaps) are more entertaining than reality. It’s like someone said when I read back that it’s an opportunity to escape reality 2 or 3 hours a day…

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CTwildheart says:

December 4, 2011 at 8:39 am

This is what I commented on the other article’s site: “While I do understand about the cost, I don’t believe people want to see more “reality” and informational shows. Scripted stories are entertaining and when I want food or life-stlyle information I can go to numerous cable channels and web sites. I have no desire to DVR these shows like I do for daytime dramas. And it’s clear this writer has never really watched a ‘soap’, because while some storylines do seem to drag on…they are NOT never-ending. NEW stories are starting all the time, while others are in the middle or just wrapping up. It’s a continual process of storytelling…just like life. And the way Disney/ABC handled the entire daytime saga has been deceitful and demeaning to longtime viewers. Many of us who had been loyal to ABC/D are moving away….and we will continue to do so until we are all gone. “

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Torrey says:

December 4, 2011 at 9:30 am

Oooh, the Chew got good ratings during the week of Thanksgiving. Is that supposed to mean something? I can’t wait until January, when OLTL is not there to help the chew out….it’s currently a lead in for OLTL, and the chew has been running directly into the OLTL hour, so they are picking up viewers that tune in to watch OLTL….Come January we will see the true viewership for that crappy show. And although they may be making more money on the chew because of the lower production cost, they sure haven’t been saving that money by all the ads that they run for the show. I haven’t seen so much promotion put into a show in my life. I can’t turn the channel anywhere, without seeing those goofy jerks from the chew talking about some idiotic recipe that anyone could find, if they just turned to the Foodnetwork.

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Jenna replied December 4th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Excellent point Torrey about the particular week chosen to compare for this article. Obviously, the reporter in on the ABC payroll or a close pal of fanta pants.

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mike says:

December 4, 2011 at 9:34 am

Is there anything to the story that ABC is pushing the Chew a minute into the timeslot of OLTL so they can use that rating to push up their total?

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Jenna replied December 4th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Oh, that has been true since it started.

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JONNYSBRO says:

December 4, 2011 at 10:36 am

The thing is we all have to remember the Chew is doing this on a 50 percent budget slash as well. ABC has no regrets cancelling SOAPS. They positioned the Chew at a great time which is during the holidays. The Chew promoted a huge Thanksigivng week and then I am hearing they have a Christmas week coming up. Holidays is about cooking and entertaining. SOAPS in this old format are VERY DINOSAUR. Soaps IMO are not over, they need someone to revamp them, make them way more cost effective and financially sound for today’s world. This old business model soaps were going on was FINANCIALLY IMPOSSIBLE.

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Jenna replied December 4th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
I don’t believe that for a minute. What I do know is that the Executive salaries are BLOATED, and the shareholder expectations are out of whack compared to what they were just 15 years ago. This is not about rising costs, it is about greed at the top.

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Waverly says:

December 4, 2011 at 12:25 pm

The Dec 9th issue of EW ran an article entitled “Talk Shows Take Over Daytime” The Chew was listed as #3 in the top 5 network talk shows. The article admitted that The Chew and The Talk averages less viewers than the soaps they replaced, but touted how much cheaper they are to produce. CBS chief Leslie Moonves is mentioned as saying his network went from losing $25million to making an anticipated $100 million in daytime by canning two soaps and adding talk/game shows. It was very upsetting to read how little regard soaps received. What was also alarming about the article were all the celebrities waiting in the wings for their opportunity to host a talk show. My impression after reading the article is that daytime will be flooded with this genre much like prime-time was with game shows during the ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ phase. I can only hope for a quick burn-out from the daytime audience and a return to building soaps back into programming. Right now cost of production seems to be ruling all decisions making soaps immediate future very bleak. I don’t think the daily drama is a dying dinosaur though. Instead I see them more like a sleeping giant waiting for the chance to regain their popularity. I think the networks will realize that those so called “never ending stories” are engaging tales of families with which viewers connect deeply and are more dedicated to supporting over the long term than the spoutings of the celebrity of the moment. It’s a mistake to disregard multi-generational devotion and I hope the networks realize this sooner rather than later.

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Jenna replied December 4th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
The lack of scripted drama on TV these days is the reason I watch less and less TV every year. I do watch Sci-Fi and the movie channels quite a bit, however.

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Nancy says:

December 4, 2011 at 2:03 pm

I am 59 years old. I see NOTHING in the article to cover 35 and up. So am I dead? Does anyone realize how many viewers that are NOT being counted in these ratings? I would, indeed, say the ratings are NOT complete. So ok, they take the numbers THEY LIKE. Are they true numbers? He** NO! Anyone in their right minds can see that. We are not fools. So they take a food show (which there are sooooooooooooooooo many of already) and they give it the number THEY like and want to see. WE ALL KNOW THE FAIRNESS THERE. NOT!!!!! So they can actually take these ratings and place them where the sun don’t shine because they are NOT complete! Nor were the ratings of the viewers of AMC. Had they been show from age 18 and UP, there would have been a much higher number!

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Nancy says:

December 4, 2011 at 2:06 pm

By the way ~~~~ put The Chew where it belongs. One of two places, either on top of the scrap heap OR on the Food Network!

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Vicki Tropp says:

December 4, 2011 at 5:02 pm

Whoever wrote that article has never interacted with a soap fan! Completely CLUELESS!!!

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Heather replied December 6th, 2011 at 1:55 am
Of course he hasn’t interracted with a soap fan. The ratings for The Chew come from the American population as a whole, not specifically the soap opera community.

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gloeevalens says:

December 5, 2011 at 4:11 pm

you know abc is soooo clueless…i may not be in 18-39 year old group anymore but i do have buying power!!! i also work in a hi stress environment in a job few do that well in..i like to cook but when i get home from another stressful day..do i want to cook, not necessarily & since i already know how…i am not going to watch a show about it!!! i want my amc & oltl..!! intelligent people need escape too & soaps are a great alternative to chemical escape!! & also I would excercise on my indoor bicycle while watching.. progressive people like soaps abc…you just don’t get it!!i heard mario batali broke the bed their crew was sitting on while filming the other day…too much food escape & not enough mental escape mario….abc has really underestimated the power of the soap fans..that is clearly what i see from the reaction of every breaking news story on the cancellations like frons firing!!! it’s not over til the fat lady sings…that’s what i say!! i holding out hope.. i hope it’s not in vain…

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shewolf says:

December 6, 2011 at 9:56 pm

my mom is 90 yrs old and has watched AMC and OLTL for decades—–she would get exicted every day to see what trouble erica and todd would get into. with these shows going off the air, the only real enjoyment she has will be taken away from her.She caught an episode of The Chew and all she said was ” this is crap”—i happen to agree !

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Valerie says:

December 6, 2011 at 11:38 pm

To Brian Frons and The Chew….. I HOPE YOU CHOKE ON IT !!!!! BRING BACK AMC AND KEEP OLTL ON !!!!!!

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Jan replied December 9th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
LOVE IT!

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Karen Sue says:

December 8, 2011 at 4:28 pm

What would it have taken to move the daily soaps to primetime and air them once a week? ABC wouldn’t have been losing anything at that point. The pay probably wouldnt have increased for any of the actors, the actors who didn’t have story lines for a few weeks could have done other projects during their time off, and we soap fans would not be going cold turkey! Frankly, I have not watched The Chew since it took AMC’s place and I will not be watching the one that takes OLTL…I already don’t watch ABC during the day now, except for OLTL. I don’t watch it that much at night either…their choice of shows just aren’t that great anymore. Too much reality is boring…seriously. And frankly, IF I want to learn to set my table, dress, or cook…that’s what cable is for!

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soap fan til death says:

December 10, 2011 at 5:06 pm

The most stupid show I have ever seen ( The Chew ). If I could have my preferences, I would bring back All My Children, keep One Life to Live and spit out The Chew.

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JJ says:

December 19, 2011 at 1:05 pm

Glad to see the chew isn’t the saving Grace for ABC. That is what ABC gets for cancelling AMC and OLTL. We, LOYAL soap fans, told ABC we wouldn’t watch their replacement shows and we are proving true to our word. ABC should get a clue from this and leave OLTL on the air before they completely alienate loyal soap fans. I now watch the Young and the Restless. I have completely boycotted all of ABC’s programing and affiliates. GOODBYE ABC!!!!!!

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LMS in PC says:

December 21, 2011 at 12:40 pm

If the chew beat All My Children in the ratings, I wonder if those watching AMC via DVR, on-line or Soapnet were counted. Are we being counted now for One Life To Live in those mediums? I switch to the local news on CBS now instead of the chew and will watch The Talk in place of the revolution (Mountain Time Zone). As much as I love Tim Gunn, abc screwed us all over and I hope the show tanks. abc has lost the respect, loyalty, advertising targeting, viewership, etc., of those of us watching our soaps for more than 40-something years. abc, you lose and will NEVER get us back unless you reverse your decisions, figure out a way to bring our stories back to life and quit messing with what wasn’t broke in the first place!!! By the way, I am a college educated (2 degrees) entrepenuer who works at home and have always joked that the soap characters are my (imaginary) co-workers, making the decision to end both soaps very personal to me. (Also, the obvious capitaliztion errors are intentional to show my dis-respect and disgust at abc’s actions.)

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rose says:

December 28, 2011 at 4:11 am

Ditto to all comments above. I’d love to see the entire viewer audience, not just up to 34 yrs. I feel ABC is saying not just soaps, but all of us 35+ are “destined for the scrape heap.” What a lousy way to speak to a potential and/or loyal audience of mainly women. In the workplace they would call it ageism. Since AMC was canceled, I only watch OLTL and GH. When they are gone, it’s the end of ABC for me. Reality may be cheaper, but there are lots more other options than when it was just the Big 3. And I caught on to their little game about using a minute of OLTL. I just tune in one minute later. Since soaps are “notorious” for long story lines, I don’t miss anything.

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j lee says:

January 6, 2012 at 1:56 pm

cant wait to see The Chew all chewed up. I wouldn’t waste my time with it. Abc should have known women want their soaps.

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Stephanie Dauer says:

May 1, 2012 at 9:55 am

Definitely the dumbest show I’ve seen and hope it’s cancelled soon.

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