NBC dropping Days Of Our Lives, moving it to Peacock

[Ccook]

On September 12, NBC will replace Days on their over-the-air affiliates with NBC News Daily, a show likely similar to ABC's GMA: What You Need to Know.

More about it here.

[SeaBreeze341]

Not counting news programming, but the end of Days results in the end of daytime network programming for NBC.  In terms of network daytime, there are over a half dozen shows remaining.  7 to be exact (5 on CBS, 2 on ABC).

DOOL moving to Peacock is not shocking at all.  It’s a little bit sad, but times change & things are different.  It’s been trending that way for the past several years, maybe over a decade.  I can’t speak for other affiliates, but mine has transitioned to local news, meaning more local news than before.  No more gameshows and soaps, and rather than a ton of SYN programming, they’ve added hours of local news (stretching to 60 minutes in the noon hour), and then starting at 4:00 EST (instead of 5:00).

It is what it is.  I’m usually watching ESPN, FS1, TWC during the day anyway.  It’s just the changing times.  More cable channels than before was the story not too long ago, and now a lot of streaming options.  There really isn’t a need to have a lot of (network) programming during the day, and I’m okay with that.  Who knows if and when the networks are done in the future, or cease to exist.  The primetime slate is still alright, so I’d be surprised if CBS, ABC, NBC (and even PBS) are extinct this time 2 years from now.

One thing’s for sure: CBS is dominating the daytime slate.  So they should be fine for a long time

[pannoni1]

And then there were three (The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital). Although there are some streaming soap services online, the fact that there isn't much of a market for classic soaps compared to other genres still shows how dim the market for traditional soap operas are. Many younger people think that wrestling or scripted reality competitions is what a soap today should be. But just like ABC's All My Children and One Life To Live when they moved to online streaming in 2011, I don't think is will last more than a couple years, even though streaming is much more established nowadays compared to back then when most soap fans were traditional, OTA or basic cable subscribers. It's also partly why classic soaps haven't really come online since their quality is consistently low and slow-paced, with similar domestic events like weddings, holidays, births, deaths, and funerals being the only real episodes of importance.

That said, the traditional networks have not won too many Emmys for their primetime programming in many years, so I fear that primetime will probably devolve into programming more similar to daytime in its classic days, with game shows, b-grade sitcoms, reboots, and of course the continuance of reality shows. And just like radio with news/talk, daytime mainly lives in those two broadcast forms nowadays, but even then, the cable news channels still grab a lot more ratings. I'd rather watch CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, or FOX News, or better yet, the numerous classic cable channels like Me TV or BUZZR.

[PimpinJC]

Wow.  Honestly thought ABC would’ve been the first network to exit daytime programming, seeing as how they were also the 1st network to axe their game show format.

Wonder how this will eventually effect the other daytime shows.  May eventually open up everything else on daytime going to paid services some years from now.

The primetime slate is still alright, so I’d be surprised if CBS, ABC, NBC (and even PBS) are extinct this time 2 years from now.

Keep in mind, sports are a huge deal for all the networks, and there’s licensing rights in place from the NFL through at least 2033, so we’re probably safe at least until then.  Folks still need the news, too.  I know digital news is becoming more common, but a lot of the baby boomer generation still doesn’t utilize technology to the same extent as younger folks.  Maybe when the boomer generation dies off, we may see the end of broadcast TV, but I can’t see it happening before then.

Is there any kind of government regulation where folks need to be able to access free TV (or at least free readily available information)?  I’m thinking back to 2009, when folks were issued those free converter box coupons from the government when analog TV was shutting down.

Regardless, I can’t see NBC TV proper going away until they at least hit their 100 year milestone, which won’t be until 2026.

[imhomerjay]

“Not counting news” doesn’t really fly. That’s where we are today for NBC and just because it’s news does not make it “not” network daytime. They didn’t exit the business. They’re programming what works for them. I get soaps and games and traditional talk are mainstays from over the years, but now news is just as legitimate a genre for the networks.

As for Days, it’s a dead show walking. This may mitigate some lost costs based on contractual commitments, but it’s being banished to quietly run out the clock.

[GRWHAMMY the 2nd]

imagine it going to (gasp) a FIFTH hour of the Today show in the future

[mellongraig]

It will be interesting to see if Global (the Canadian television network) will still be obligated to carry Days of Our Lives on September 12th even if it's not on NBC anymore (since they right now simulcast the show at the same time when NBC has it on). CJON also carries it as well.

[holein1isawesome]

My grandma would have a fit if she were alive. She never missed an episode of Days, even after the gay storyline was introduced.

[shell_game]

It's definitely going to lose its older fan base with this move. I was reading through comments on the official Facebook page. Countless folks who have been watching for 40 and 50 years feeling betrayed and stating that they won't pay for a streaming service to continue watching it. Or as my mom put it when I told her, "whatever Peacock is."  But to be fair, she hasn't been watching it "since they killed off Bo." I actually tuned in to watch his return, only to be sorely disappointed when shortly thereafter they killed him off (as much as any DOOL character can be killed off). But that older fan base is shrinking anyhow. So they're just expediting things.

But I'm one who doesn't understand the shifts to news throughout the day. There are so many options out there, including for news, I just don't understand why someone near a TV would choose to turn it on for another news option.

[imhomerjay]

The older viewer base isn’t valuable. Harsh as that may sound and no network would say it aloud, it just isn’t.

As for a news hour, I get it. When possible, I catch my local noon news, maybe quietly in the background, but getting a quick sense of headlines and weather while eating at my desk. During the pandemic’s early days, when ABC turned GMA3 into “what you need to know,” I’d leave that in to catch the latest headlines. Once they morphed it into a more wide ranging news program almost like the “old” days of what GMA was in the morning (I mean way old days), I will still leave it on, because it resonates with me. If it resonates with enough people who advertisers want to reach, great, it stays. If not, they’ll move on. Plenty of shows I don’t get stay on because they do work for their audiences.

[FanOfDrew87]

Wow.  Honestly thought ABC would’ve been the first network to exit daytime programming, seeing as how they were also the 1st network to axe their game show format.

Well, NBC was the first of the big three U.S. broadcast networks to discontinue Saturday morning cartoons (it occurred in 1992), and ABC was the last (in 2006).

[shell_game]

As for a news hour, I get it. When possible, I catch my local noon news, maybe quietly in the background, but getting a quick sense of headlines and weather while eating at my desk.

But do a lot of people do that? If I have a lunch break and want to catch up with the news, I either go to a website if at my desk or use a new app on my phone. I do this at lunch a lot. But go to a TV and turn it to a network broadcast? I'm never going to think to do that anymore even if it's a day that I'm working from home. And I'm an outlier old-school person for my age so I figure if I'm not doing it, few people my age or younger are going to turn to the box in the living room or kitchen for it. But maybe I'm wrong.

[imhomerjay]

Beats me, I provided an anecdotal example. The networks know more than we do because they have data we don’t. I was simply showing it’s not something “no one” does.  And while they may be on the hook for contractual obligations for DOOL, shuttling it off to Peacock may be the “cutting their losses” move for the time being.

Of course news is cheaper than a standalone drama. They have a news operation with tons of content they can package. They can get fewer total viewers but a better concentration that advertisers want to pay for and still wind up ahead.

[Reloaden]

Soaps are pretty much a thing of the past i am surprised some are still surviving. I think moving Days to streaming is a smart idea rather than canceling the show all together.


I don't really watch much tv anymore its just background noise. They have way too many news programs and they repeat them self with different anchors. I have a older family member and he watches the news all day long. I would go insane.

[EaglesWings4500]

Well, NBC was the first of the big three U.S. broadcast networks to discontinue Saturday morning cartoons (it occurred in 1992), and ABC was the last (in 2006).

I remember Saturday morning cartoons..   It's a shame that they did that