General Hospital
GH Timeslot Change Confirmed For 8 Markets Including: New York, Los Angeles & Chicago Beginning On September 8th!
Courtesy/ABC
Today there was an update from our previous item that several markets are moving General Hospital back to the timeslot it held for 25 years, that of 3pMET/2PMPT.
According to ABC Soaps In Depth, the markets that will be affected by the change are: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, San Antonio, and Raleigh-Durham.
These cities will now see General Hospital beginning in its old timeslot starting with the Monday, September 8th episode!
So, it looks like some major markets will have the time change. If you are in one of the cities affected by the time switch, let us know if you are happy about the news … or if you don’t like the news one bit?
Odd that Boston isn’t changing it’s timeslot too.
As I mentioned last week, I don’t think this is advantageous from a social media standpoint with the East coast split between 2:00 airing and 3:00 airing.
It really doesn’t matter IMO. Most viewers DVR the show & watch it later so they can skip the commercials.
Neilsen counts Twitter 3 hours before and after in it’s market (if it is a Neilsen Market) so it won’t matter.
The problem will be if people aren’t aware of the time change. Anytime there is a time shift you risk losing viewers. And in those major markets a hit can effect the show.
I hear if your one of the eight markets that GH goes back to its old time slot you’ll see Maxi use her own brain, Julie Berman as Lulu, along with Dante who solves a crime, Duke Lavery, Scott and Luke duel for Laura, a house full of Quartermaines, Steve Burton, any AJ, Sonny and Brenda, Nicholas and Emily, Stone and Robin, Robert and Anna, Sean and Tiffany, Ruby at Kellys talking to Jake, Amy telling Liz Rick is dangerous, Dr. Derek Wells, Alexis, the Mannings, Jagger and Karen having coffee, Michael with anyone but Kiki, Jimmy Lee Holt and Tracy arguing over Edwards estate, and Frisco singing to his grandchildren as Tony takes a call from Tania. Ah, the 3 oclock time slot!
…was that an attempt at comedy? It worked.
Yes, but probably wishful thinking, as well.
This is potentially bad for GH. If the Network is willing to risk the health of the show to allow certain stations to move it where they think it benefits that station specifically, possibly thinking it is a stronger lead in for their 4p news, then you have to wonder about ABC’s commitment to its Soap.
If they are so happy with the ratings and the show is on solid ground, then keeping its time slot not only where it is, but consistent in each time zone, would be a priority, not the needs of a few individual stations.
GH will have a different lead in, it will be on at a new time, and it will be on at different times in the same time zone, effecting the social media aspect of the show and risking that people in large markets like NY and Philadelphia may follow the twitter timeline or message board live threads before the show airs in their markets and may decide not to tune in on certain days.
6abc Philly(the most profitable abc affliate in the country) – moving GH to 3:00pm
with who wants to be a millionaire and daytime jeopardy from 2 to 3…
is this an attempt to keep the spot warm for a reboot of OLTL and AMC after the PP lawsuit is settled?
No. Tyra Banks has a show coming in 2015 produced by ABC that is what they are keeping itv warm for.
ABC will not put money into another daytime soap. They are among rhe least profitable shows for the network.
thanks for the insightful response .. but my interest in tyra banks would rank below that of the dreadful Katie.
The time change doesn’t matter to me, personally.. I will watch GH anytime! I just worry that when a show starts moving around on the schedule it seems as if it’s the first step towards cancellation. If it ain’t broke, why “fix” it??
I’m so happy! It just goes to show Katie failed.
Makes no difference as long as it’s on.
I am Happy to have GH going back to its Rightful time of 2 pm Central time in Texas!
I am actually happy to hear this! Now I do not have to decide between watching GH or DAYS daily when when I am working from home. And now perhaps both shows can get more viewers in markets where the shows were previously competing with each other for live viewers.
I think that’s been a problem. We know Y&R and B&B don’t go against each other, but in some markets DOOL and GH are going head to head. I wish we knew the markets that DOOL and GH go against Y&R and B&B…not many, I suspect.
ABC and NBC should work together to keep their soaps on at different times…the best soaps!
If so many markets have DOOL and GH against each other and Y&R & B&B are not scheduled opposite other soaps, then it’s no wonder that GH and DOOL are last in the ratings…potential soap viewers are split between the best soaps while the crappy soaps reap the rewards!!!
Not good. The beginning of the end for “Guiding Light” was when CBS let stations move the show around the schedule however they wanted. Soon, affiliates were showing it a day behind, or at the ridiculous time of 9 a.m., or in some cases not at all. It hurts the ability to promote the show, too. Will the guy on “The Chew” no longer be able to remind viewers that “General Hospital” is up next — because in some markets it won’t be. It just creates unnecessary confusion. Daytime lineups remain stronger when they are consistent (with the time-zone shifts, of course).
So true, this type of shifting the show around was the beginning of the end for the Guiding light. ABC affiliates are interested in Meredith Viera as an alternative.
I think this might help get teenagers back into it (or exposed to it) with the later timeslot. I know that (back-in-the-day), the whole reason I got hooked on GL was the fact that I could run home from the bus and catch it after school (…and in the late-70’s thru the mid-80’s, GL didn’t do too badly up against powerhouse GH, I’ll tell you that!)
Chicago girl here. I liked the 1 pm timeslot personally because I could juggle my lunch time to fit and watch live. Oh well…that’s why we have DVRs I guess.
I’m curious…everyone else getting Rachel Ray in the 1pm slot or is that just my market? I actually like and watch cooking shows but I think RR’s show is pretty much played out at this point so I won’t be watching this one.
I’m not sure what ABC thinks they have to gain here. GH seemed to get a little ratings bump by moving to the hour earlier slot so why mess with success?
It’s your market. I’m also in the same time zone as you. But, in a different state. RACHAEL RAY comes on at 10am in our area. It’s considered a “syndicated” show, meaning that if a local station carries it, they can place it in any hour they wish , outside normal broadcast programming. GH is broadcast programming. So, ABC’s feed will only send GH to stations at a set time every day.
I don’t think the time slot change for GH is anything but a way to test which time slot is better for the show.
The previous time change to 2pm in most markets after airing at 3pm for so many years proved that people will follow the show wherever it goes, so I don’t think this is an issue whatsoever. If anything, I think going back to the more comfortable and more established 3pm time slot is a better move in the long run.
Is there a list available where people can see what soaps go against each other in all the markets?
I understand that “Days” will also be changing time slots in some markets to make room for Meridith Viera’s talk show. In some markets in may be an hour earlier, in others an hour later. And in still others, no change at all. Just thought I throw that into the mix.
Don H.
WMAQ-TV/NBC 5 will be making some changes to its midday schedule next month, ending its 30-minute Noon newscast, but adding a new 60-minute 11:00am newscast. Days of our Lives will begin airing at 12 noon in Chicago. The changes occur on September 8th.
WHO CARES!!! I am just so happy that GH is on the air PERIOD and us fans of the show will fallow it even if they aired it at midnight!
Wish all my cancelled soaps were in the same predicament!!!
Amen to that. I don’t give a crap about the social media bs. If you don’t want to know, cut your twitter/facebook/etc. off for a couple of hours. So show it at 2, 3 4 or 5…just show it! My TIVO will follow it wherever it goes.
Hi KM – I’m also from Chicago! The only thing this move means to me is that I have to wait one more hour for GH to begin. And I have to listen to Rachael Ray for an hour (unless I change the channel)!! I kind of liked the earlier hour for GH, but really as long as it’s ON, I’m a happy camper. I do agree with others that say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Wow, some of you are making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Doesn’t affect me. In my area, GH never changed timeslot. Judge Judy replaced Good Afternoon America and GH stayed at 3. Katie aired on the NBC station.
I loved watching GH for years at 3pm on (channel 7 in NYC). My friends, family, and I refused to watch the 3pm replacement show (Katie) because the tradition and comfort of GH broadcast was treated with such disregard that it insulted a program that held that time slot for years. Katie may have had a better chance to survive the rating war if it was put in a another time slot of 2 pm or 4 pm. or final choice of being the leading program for the “The Chew”. I also would like to thank everyone that support GH (including network programers) because as a viewer it is nice to have a choice to watch something different like a daytime soap opera drama, after being force to select from endless reality shows, talk show, and morbid court shows featuring the dim lights of our society.
I actually look at this as a good sign for GH’s future the fact that these bigger markets recognized Katie as a failure and realize that GH is a better lead-in to their game shows and news programming.
Also as somebody noted before if you live in Chicago, WMAQ is moving Days of Our Lives to 12pm due to the Meredith Vierra addition to the lineup. They made the move so that they could air the news at 11am for 60 minutes and could have Vierra air with Steve Harvey and Ellen.
I never saw how DAYS was doing at 11am locally in that market so I’m not sure if the noon start benefits it more but I have to think that competition is going to be harder as it has to go against the second-half of Y&R and B&B.
I got used to it at 2 oclock I rather it not go back to 3 oclock
I’m thrilled GH is going back to it’s 2pm time slot!
I hated kaite anyway because I loved general hospital @3:00 because I get home from work @3 I love to see it on real .tv. I LOVE GENERAL SO MUCH:) so congratulations to general hospital the the best show in the world back at3pm again :):):)
mitchell bourque
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”
Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.
In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.
She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’”
Photo: ABC
THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH
Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’
The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.”
The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.
As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”
So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers
B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
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DANCING WITH THE STARS: A Shocking Elimination on Grammy Night Leaves Ballroom Silenced
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THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
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