Days of Our Lives Leaving NBC After 57 years

NBC Peacock Soaps TV News  Opinion 

            It's been awhile since soap news has been presented here, and really the last big move was in 2011 when ABC announced the ends of One Life to Live and All My Children those soaps then ended up in some development  hell , streamed for a while then ended  after that.  There's only 4 network soaps left. NBC has been down to one soap since the cancelation of Passions in 2007 for a 4th hour of "The Today Show". 

        Wednesday, Vulture reported that Days of Our Lives will be moving from NBC to the  NBC Universals owned streaming service, Peacock, from September 12th. After 57 years on NBC and network TV, this means the show will be moving to an on demand pay platform and that NBC, the network, is out of the soap business themselves. (The chance of them making a new soap is probably higher than winning the lottery, but lower than being struck by lightning)  As of this writing, NBC hasn't said what's happening to the hour long slot.  NBC is replacing it with a new show called "NBC News Daily" 

        Days has had some streaming life, episodes run on Peacock, and it even had a spinoff "Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem" which has had 2 seasons and 10 episodes.  Vulture also notes of the 4 daytime soaps it's the lowest rated.  NBC and Sony, who make the show, have come close in the past few years with nearby cancelations, though it was recently renewed in 2021 for two more seasons.  

     The unknown question is if this will help the soap or will this cause it wither and  eventually just go away? In other words, can the daytime show model work in streaming? That also seems to be test try as Amazon has been trying with another daytime mainstay, the court show and Judge Judy with her new series "Judy Justice".  The idea of a soap was a daytime serial , new episode each day, but at a set time and watched during the day. When Soap Net existed, it did offer a chance to see it again, and with on-demand options as well, but there is something about having a linear slot and space that might not be in the advantage of moving this show. That's hard too tell. I'd hope that there would be something that keeps it going for a long time. 

  

     Will it drive people to the streaming service? Uhhhhh, again unknown. The other thing will this encourage  CBS or ABC or both to decide to move their soaps to their corporate streaming sisters?  That opens the possibility of an idea that could happen, but it's hard to know for the best. On the bright side, there won't be any news preemptions. 

         It's not like NBC, or any other network is going to replace a soap with anything that might be fun to watch or even a new soap, they'll find some cheaper, maybe news or talk based because it's easy and less risk.  ABC has a third hour of GMA as a  daytime show, CBS has The Talk as a replacement to a soap slot. 

   

     I hope the best for  Days and hope it can continue to do well enough to continue, in this "Streaming is the Future ™" world or something.  Anyway, these truly are the Days of our Lives.  

Press release after the jump

“NBC News Daily” Comes to NBC Daytime in First-of-Its Kind Live News Offering

  

NEW YORK – Aug. 3, 2022 – NBC is evolving its daytime programming lineup with the move of “Days of Our Lives” to stream exclusively on Peacock and the launch of “NBC News Daily” in the drama’s former network timeslot. 

Starting Sept. 12, Peacock will become the exclusive home of the fan-favorite drama “Days of Our Lives.” For the first time ever, all new episodes of the 58-time Emmy Award-winning drama will debut on Peacock daily with the show’s robust library already available to stream for Peacock Premium subscribers. The historic move to Peacock creates the ultimate destination for daytime fans to access the library, new episodes and Peacock Original “Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem” in one place.

Also beginning Sept. 12, in the timeslots previously occupied by “Days of Our Lives,” “NBC News Daily” will debut across NBC stations. NBC News will provide signature world-class reporting and breaking news coverage in a first-of-its kind, live in most markets mid-day news offering. “NBC News Daily,’’ an hourlong program anchored by NBC News’ team of award-winning journalists, including Kate Snow, Aaron Gilchrist, Vicky Nguyen and Morgan Radford, will provide viewers with up-to-the-minute national and international news, with the option for NBC stations to add local news. NBC News Daily” will also be streamed simultaneously on NBC News NOW and Peacock.

“This programming shift benefits both Peacock and NBC and is reflective of our broader strategy to utilize our portfolio to maximize reach and strengthen engagement with viewers,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “With a large percentage of the ‘Days of Our Lives’ audience already watching digitally, this move enables us to build the show’s loyal fanbase on streaming while simultaneously bolstering the network daytime offering with an urgent, live programming opportunity for partners and consumers.” 

NBC owned stations will announce their specific daytime schedule soon.

ABOUT “DAYS OF OUR LIVES” 
“Days of Our Lives,” a consistent favorite among fans and critics alike, aired it’s 14,000th episode in 2020 and remains NBC’s longest-running series. The show has garnered 58 Emmy Awards, including most recently 2018’s Outstanding Daytime Drama, and 372 nominations, as well as multiple People’s Choice Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, and Prism Awards. The show’s success stems from its consistent commitment to excellence in writing and storytelling – supported by a diverse ensemble of performers – and an uncanny knack for anticipating viewer interests. With its mix of classic genre traditions and groundbreaking narratives reflecting modern life, “Days of Our Lives” remains a perennial favorite among viewers of all ages. “Days of Our Lives” is produced by Corday Productions Inc. in association with Sony Pictures Television. Ken Corday is executive producer with co-executive producer Albert Alarr. Ron Carlivati is the head writer. 

  
ABOUT NBC NEWS NOW 
NBC News NOW is a 24-hour streaming network with over 10 live hours daily of best-in-class journalism. Featuring more live original programming than any other news streaming network, NBC News NOW is the fastest-growing streaming news network in the U.S. with both international and now domestic linear distribution. 

 NBC News NOW is ad-supported and is also distributed across Peacock, Fubo, Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, the Roku Channel, Tubi, Xumo, YouTube, YouTube TV and NBC News’ apps on Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV. 

MEDIA CONTACTS 
Peacock
Lisa.Scalzo@nbcuni.com

NBC
Allison.Rawlings@nbcuni.com

NBC News
Dana.Klinghoffer@nbcuni.com

NBC Owned Stations
Melissa.Castro@nbcuni.com