"General Hospital" on ABC gained 23 nominations, including best lead actor in a drama series for both Maurice Bernard and Anthony Geary and best lead actress for Laura Wright. Fellow soap opera stalwarts "The Young and the Restless" and "Days of Our Lives," followed with 16 and 15 nominations respectively.

"Sesame Street" gained 16 nominations and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," received 12.

Among TV talk shows, NBC's "Today" show brought home six, including one for its coverage of the British royal wedding last year, against one nod for its ABC rival "Good Morning America", which last month knocked "Today" off its No.1 morning spot for the first time in 16 years.

Among networks however, ABC ruled the roost with a leading 56 nominations thanks mostly to its daytime soaps and programs like female chat show "The View".

PBS was second with 51, mostly due to its strong children's programming, CBS had 32 and NBC got 24 nods.

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper also did well, scoring three nominations in the first year of his new syndicated daytime talk show "Anderson".

The daytime Emmys awards will be handed out at a gala ceremony on June 23 in Beverly Hills.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Christine Kearney)

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