If January is any indication of the months to come, then 2016 is going to be quite a year for soap operas.
The ratings for the week of January 18 through January 22 show that all four soaps not only gained viewers but are also ahead of their total viewer numbers from this time last year.
ABC's General Hospital pulled in the most new viewers, adding 116,000 for the week that had Lulu (Emme Rylan) rescuing Valerie (Brytni Sarpy) from a fire, and Robert (Tristan Rogers) and Anna (Finola Hughes) working together to find Carlos (Jeffrey Vincent Parise). In total, GH managed to pull in 3,131,000 viewers.
NBC's Days of our Lives also had a strong week with an additional 85,000 viewers who tuned in to see Hope (Kristian Alfonso) confessing to murder, and John (Drake Hogestyn) uncovering the truth about his history. In total, DAYS was able to snag an audience of 2,872,000 for the week.
CBS' The Young and the Restless pulled in an additional 39,000 viewers, for a grand total of 5,308,000. Its sister soap, The Bold and the Beautiful, gained 65,000 for a grand total of 4,063,000.
For the full ratings report, based on Nielsen Live + Same Day ratings, check out Soap Opera Network.
What do you think about all four soaps gaining viewers in early 2016? Why do you think soap viewership is up as a whole? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
