Oprah's afternoon
replacement: No one
The two closest are Winfrey pals Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz
By Bill Cromwell
Nov 3, 2011
Nearly six months after Oprah Winfrey finished her syndicated talk show, it's clear that no one will come close to replacing the queen of daytime in ratings.
It doesn't look like any one talk show has inherited her viewers, either.
The top remaining talk shows are drawing numbers only half as good as Winfrey's, and none of the new shows has stood out.
Not surprisingly, Winfrey's two proteges, Dr. Phil McGraw and Dr. Mehmet Oz, are in the lead.
So far this season, "Dr. Phil" is averaging a 3.0 household rating, according to Nielsen, 0.2 ahead of third-year show "Dr. Oz."
"Live with Regis and Kelly" ranks third with a 2.6 average, followed by "Maury" and "Ellen DeGeneres Show" tied for fourth with a 2.2 apiece.
Those five shows are far ahead of the rest of the group, with "The Doctors" in sixth with a 1.5 average.
Clearly Winfrey's viewers have not flocked to any one show. Though "Oz" and "Ellen" are both up over last year, after inheriting "Oprah's" timeslot in several key markets, their gains haven't been gigantic.
Though "Oprah" was not the top daytime show when she left the air -- that's been "Judge Judy" for two years -- she was by far the top talker. And no other talk show has seen a big influx of viewers.
Instead "Oprah" devotees seem to have either turned off the tube, looked for other syndie shows, or headed for cable, where reruns and reality shows generally rule the afternoon.
Certainly the newer talk shows aren't benefitting from Winfrey's exit.
"Anderson," the most high-profile new talk show this fall with host Anderson Cooper of CNN, is averaging just a 1.3 rating, tied for ninth among talk shows with "The Steve Wilkos Show."
And "The Nate Berkus Show," starring another of Winfrey's former favorite guests, designer Berkus, is averaging a mere 1.1 in its second season. Buyers tell Media Life that this has prompted some speculation that this could be the show's last season.
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SYNDICATED TALK SHOWS
Ranked on Households
Season to date through Oct. 23 |
|
Rank |
Program |
Producer |
Hhld rating |
|
1 |
DR. PHIL SHOW |
CTD |
3.0 |
|
2 |
DR. OZ SHOW |
SPT |
2.8 |
|
3 |
LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY |
DAD |
2.6 |
|
4 |
MAURY |
NBU |
2.2 |
|
4 |
ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW |
WB |
2.2 |
|
6 |
DOCTORS |
CTD |
1.5 |
|
7 |
JERRY SPRINGER |
NBU |
1.4 |
|
7 |
RACHAEL RAY |
CTD |
1.4 |
|
9 |
STEVE WILKOS SHOW |
NBU |
1.3 |
|
9 |
ANDERSON |
WB |
1.3 |
|
11 |
NATE BERKUS SHOW |
SPT |
1.1 |
|
12 |
WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW |
2/T |
1.0 |
|
13 |
DR DREW-LIFECHANGERS |
CWB |
0.8 |
|
14 |
JEREMY KYLE SHOW |
2/T |
0.5 |
|
Source: Warner Bros. from Nielsen data |
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