CBS Extends Daytime Leadership To 39 Seasons

On the heels of announcing its primetime programming plans for 2025-26, CBS, the most-watched broadcast network, has also confirmed another year of viewer victory in daytime. Comparably, CBS has been No. 1 in total viewers in daytime for 39 consecutive years – since the 1986-87 season.

So, what exactly was CBS airing in that 1986-87 season? There were three current occupants – The Price is Right (then hosted by Bob Barker), The Young and the Restless and The Bold in the Beautiful, which replaced daytime drama Capitol in midseason. There were also game shows The $25,000 Pyramid and Card Sharks and the drama As the World Turns. At present, recent daytime drama entry Beyond the Gates (which replaced The Talk and has been renewed for season two) joined The Price Is Right, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and Let’s Make a Deal on the Eye net lineup.

CBS’ weekly winning streak – now at 1,500 consecutive weeks – started the week of October 3, 1988, and was interrupted for only one week – from July 22-29, 1996, during the Summer Olympics held in Atlanta and broadcast on NBC.

As first-run syndication, specifically talk shows, continues to dwindle, the trio of CBS daytime stalwarts – The Price Is Right (3.95 million viewers this season), The Young and the Restless (3.29 million) and The Bold and the Beautiful (2.79 million) – hold the top 3 spots overall. Let’s Make a Deal, meanwhile, is averaging 2.21 million viewers and Beyond the Gates (1.87 million), which debuted on February 24, ranks fifth. But that is still 48 percent above year-ago time period occupant The Talk.