WTAE-TV
Although it was the only ABC affiliate in the region when it signed on at the time, WTAE-TV also pre-empted and/or delayed a handful of ABC programs, most notably some of its daytime lineup from the 1960s to the late 1990s. WTAE-TV did not begin running "Good Morning America" until December 1978, and only aired an hour of the program until 1980. "One Life to Live" did not run on WTAE-TV from its 1968 debut up until 1978, when the soap opera expanded to an hour-long format. From 1969 to 1971, and again from 1974 to 1979, ABC shows that were not broadcast on channel 4 ended up airing instead on WPGH-TV. After 1980, some of these shows ran on WPTT (channel 22, now WPNT). WTAE-TV also preempted the Sunday morning ABC children's programming block the entire time ABC offered it, as well as a couple of hours of ABC's Saturday morning cartoons until 1979. WTAE-TV ran syndicated cartoons in place of the network-supplied children's programs, while the pre-empted Saturday morning network programs (including "American Bandstand") aired on WPGH during that time.
One Life to Live
The 2009-2010 season was a particularly difficult year for "One Life to Live". During the week of June 28, 2010, the show ranked last among all soap operas with 2.1 million viewers, compared to 2.3 million for "As the World Turns". As "One Life to Live" entered the 2010-2011 season, ratings improved, but not enough to prevent ABC from cancelling the program on April 14, 2011. After the cancellation announcement, "One Life to Live" began to surpass "General Hospital" in total number of viewers, but "General Hospital" continued to dominate "One Life to Live" in several specific categories, most notably the key demographic of women between 18 and 49 years old, usually prioritized by daytime networks. By November 2011, "One Life to Live" had dethroned "General Hospital" in every category. Overall, "One Life to Live" was the third highest rated program among the five remaining soap operas in its last season, trailing "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful", but ahead of "General Hospital" and "Days of Our Lives". The show averaged 2.6 million viewers on a daily basis during its final weeks. Its final episode on January 13, 2012 drew more than 3.8 millions viewers, one of the highest ratings in the history of soap opera finales.