Broadcast History
See also: List of US daytime soap opera ratingsLove of Life began, as most other television serials of that era, as a 15-minute program, airing at 12:15 PM Eastern (11:15 AM Central). The program became so popular that CBS expanded it to 30 minutes on April 14, 1958, moving it to Noon/11. During that period, Love of Life generally placed in the ratings among the top six soaps in the 1950s and 1960s.
Starting on October 1, 1962 the episode duration was reduced by five minutes to accommodate a newscast.
By the late 1960s Love of Life's audience share had been eroded by Jeopardy! on NBC. Jeopardy! had become the second highest rated daytime game show behind Hollywood Squares - Jeopardy!'s then lead-in. To accommodate new in-house serial Where the Heart Is, starting on September 8, 1969 CBS moved Love of Life ahead thirty minutes, which put it against the highly popular Hollywood Squares. From this date episodes again had a full thirty minute duration. On March 26, 1973 episodes were again reduced to fit a 25 minute slot to accommodate a newscast. By this time CBS had assumed production from the original packager, American Home Products, as it had with The Secret Storm.
CBS canceled the in-house soaps Love is a Many Splendored Thing and Where the Heart Is in 1973, and The Secret Storm in early 1974. Love of Life managed to escape cancellation due to a brief rise in the ratings in the mid-1970s, occasioned largely by the reintroduction of Meg to the storyline. The show's ratings climbed as high as 9th, above General Hospital and One Life to Live, in the 1975-1976 television season.
On April 23, 1979, CBS moved Love of Life to the 4 PM slot that had opened when Match Game was canceled. For this slot, episodes again had a full thirty minute duration. However, ratings plummeted upon the move as many CBS affiliates pre-empted the serial to show more profitable syndicated programming- which, beginning in September 1979, included a new daily syndicated Match Game that went up against (and, in some cases, shown in place of) Love of Life. Within ten months Love of Life was canceled.
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