# List of American daytime soap opera ratings
The **list of American daytime soap opera ratings** is a compilation of television Nielsen ratings and rankings for American daytime soap operas from 1950 to the present, as compiled by [Nielsen Media Research](https://www.edgepedia.org/nielsen-media-research).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Subject | Nielsen ratings and rankings for American daytime soap operas, 1950 to the present, compiled by Nielsen Media Research[7](https://www.primidi.com/list_of_us_daytime_soap_opera_ratings) |
| Unit | Percentage of US TV households watching a show in a year[7](https://www.primidi.com/list_of_us_daytime_soap_opera_ratings) |
| Season window | Before 1996, averages covered late September through mid-April; since 1996, full-year ratings from September through September[7](https://www.primidi.com/list_of_us_daytime_soap_opera_ratings) |
## What the numbers measure
The list reports household ratings: for each season, the share of American television households that watched a given soap in an average broadcast. Two methodological boundaries matter when reading the historical figures. Before 1996, a season's average included only ratings from late September through mid-April, the period before summer reruns and preemption distortion; since 1996 the numbers represent full-year ratings, running from September through September.[7](https://www.primidi.com/list_of_us_daytime_soap_opera_ratings)
Nielsen methodology has continued to change since the list's compilation conventions were set. As of the 2025-2026 television season, Nielsen measures ratings using the Live+Same Day Big Data + Panel model, whereas numbers for the 2024-2025 season came from the earlier Live+Same Day Panel-only model; comparisons spanning that divide therefore combine two different measurement methods.[1](https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2026/07/daytime-broadcast-ratings-season-to-date-2025-2026)
## Peak of the genre
The ratings ceiling came early in television history. [As the World Turns](https://www.edgepedia.org/as-the-world-turns) was created by [Irna Phillips](https://www.edgepedia.org/irna-phillips), who pioneered the genre in 1930s radio with Painted Dreams and popularized cliffhangers and swelling organ music; within two years of its 1956 debut it had become America's top daytime show, and it ran for 54 years, the third longest TV run of any daytime soap.[2](https://time.com/5793568/irna-phillips-100-women-of-the-year/)
A rating of 16.1 means roughly one in six American TV households was watching that one show at a typical daytime moment.
## The long decline
The genre's audience has contracted steadily since its mid-century peak. By the week of April 14, 2008, recent Nielsen ratings for first-run daytime broadcasts showed an average program rating of 2.18 and a cumulative rating for all daytime soap operas combined of 17.4, so the entire genre then drew about what a single leading soap had drawn at its height.[3](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15213260802509993) Soap operas once filled all of the networks' daytime schedules, but most of them were canceled years ago.[4](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/soap-opera-ratings-for-the-2025-26-tv-season/)
**What remains on air.** Four network soaps and one streaming series constitute the current measurement field tracked by trade coverage: [The Young and the Restless](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-young-and-the-restless), The Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital, Beyond the Gates, and Days of our Lives, the last of which moved to Peacock.[1](https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2026/07/daytime-broadcast-ratings-season-to-date-2025-2026) General Hospital is the longest-running American soap opera currently in production, having first aired on April 1, 1963.[5](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/general-hospital-exits-and-arrivals-all-the-latest-cast-changes) Beyond the Gates premiered on CBS in February 2025 as the first soap to feature a majority Black cast and was renewed for a second season; CBS chief George Cheeks said the show was born out of data showing that daytime soap operas over index with Black women.[6](https://apnews.com/article/d7369f7a60a0a992483294acb950ef6d)
## The current ratings picture
Season-to-date figures for 2025-26 show a compressed hierarchy. The Young and the Restless leads among Households with a 2.1 rating (down 5% from 2.2) while rising 2% among Total Viewers to 3.312 million. [The Bold and the Beautiful](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-bold-and-the-beautiful) posted a 1.9 household rating and 2.944 million viewers, gains of 5% and 6% respectively, the largest season-over-season improvement among the four network soap operas. [General Hospital](https://www.edgepedia.org/general-hospital) stands at a 1.4 household rating and 2.184 million viewers, and Beyond the Gates at a 1.2 rating and 1.773 million viewers.[1](https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2026/07/daytime-broadcast-ratings-season-to-date-2025-2026)
Demographic leadership is shifting in the same season. The Bold and the Beautiful is on pace to win the season among soaps in Women 18-49, marking the first time it would rank No. 1 for a single season among soaps, topping perennial leader The Young and the Restless.[1](https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2026/07/daytime-broadcast-ratings-season-to-date-2025-2026) In the key Women 25-54 demographic, both General Hospital and Beyond the Gates fell 33% season-over-season (0.2 rating versus 0.3), while The Bold and the Beautiful held flat at 0.4 and The Young and the Restless dropped 20% (0.4 versus 0.5).[1](https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2026/07/daytime-broadcast-ratings-season-to-date-2025-2026)
## Reading the list across eras
Comparing figures across decades requires care, because three conventions have changed: the season window (pre-1996 versus full-year), the counting basis (Live+Same Day versus Live+7 from 2013-14), and the measurement model (Panel-only versus Big Data + Panel from 2025-26).[1](https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2026/07/daytime-broadcast-ratings-season-to-date-2025-2026)
## References
1. [Daytime Broadcast Ratings: Season-To-Date (2025-26 vs. 2024-25), Soap Opera Network](https://www.soapoperanetwork.com/2026/07/daytime-broadcast-ratings-season-to-date-2025-2026)
2. [Irna Phillips: 100 Women of the Year, TIME](https://time.com/5793568/irna-phillips-100-women-of-the-year/)
3. [Soap Opera Exposure and Enjoyment: A Longitudinal Test of Disposition Theory, Media Psychology](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15213260802509993)
4. [Soap opera ratings for the 2025-26 TV season, TV Series Finale](https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/soap-opera-ratings-for-the-2025-26-tv-season/)
5. [General Hospital exits and arrivals, What to Watch](https://www.whattowatch.com/features/general-hospital-exits-and-arrivals-all-the-latest-cast-changes)
6. ['Beyond the Gates' is renewed as veteran Black soap actors cheer its success, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/d7369f7a60a0a992483294acb950ef6d)
7. [List of US Daytime Soap Opera Ratings | List Daytime Soap Opera Ratings | Technology Trends, primidi.com](https://www.primidi.com/list_of_us_daytime_soap_opera_ratings)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Soap operas and continuing serials › US and Americas daytime serials and characters › Daytime serial ratings history*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license