The biggest gainer is Ellen DeGeneres.

In a new poll by AOL Television that gauges the popularity of different TV hosts. DeGeneres topped the daytime queen in several categories.

Actually, DeGeneres walloped her.

Asked to choose which talk show host “made their day,” 46 percent of the 1.35 million voters chose DeGeneres. Winfrey placed third with 19 percent of the vote, 3 percentage points behind runner-up Regis Philbin.

Voters also favored DeGeneres by a wide margin when asked which TV host would make an ideal dinner guest. Forty-seven percent chose the stand-up comedian, followed by 16 percent for Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart. Just 14 percent chose Winfrey.

Winfrey won just one of the 18 categories in the AOL poll: best interviewer.

This comes at a point when Winfrey would seem to be at the peak of her career, with a new primetime show on ABC, in additional to her syndicated talker, and her own cable network launching next year.

But what the AOL poll suggests is a bit of a backlash against daytime's top talker.

Is it a case of being on top so long that folks have become weary of her?

Or is it the fact that DeGeneres is that much more accessible, without the do-good luggage that Winfrey brings to every conversation?

For sure, Winfrey is still way far out ahead in the ratings. Yet she's seen large declines this year. Season to date, she’s averaging a 5.6 household rating, nearly a point ahead of No. 2 “Dr. Phil” but down 16 percent from the same time last year, according to Nielsen.

She's not alone. All of the daytime talkers but DeGeneres are down from last year, most by double-digit percentages. But Winfrey has seen the steepest decline this season among women 18-49, where she slipped 23 percent.

Another surprisingly popular daytimer in the AOL poll, after DeGeneres, was “Good Morning America’s” Diane Sawyer. Asked who would make the best president, more than a third chose Sawyer. Winfrey tied for second with Jon Stewart at 22 percent.

Sawyer also took favorite morning show host, despite appearing on the No. 2 morning show, just edging “Today’s” Matt Lauer. NBC’s Jay Leno was the favorite late-night host, and Kelly Ripa topped Tyra Banks for sexiest host.
 
CNN’s Larry King won least sexy host by a wide margin, more than doubling second-place Whoopi Goldberg. Voters deemed her the daytime host most in need of a fashion makeover, but they also thought she’d come out on top if the hosts of “The View” ever engaged in a smackdown. Interestingly, Barbara Walters finished second.

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Meanwhile, in daypart ratings for the week ended March 16, NBC’s “Meet the Press” was once again first among the Sunday morning shows in total viewers with 4.22 million tuning in, and was also first among viewers 25-54 with a 1.2 rating. ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos” was second in viewers with 2.82 million and tied for second among 25-54s with a 0.8, with CBS’s “Face the Nation” pulling 2.75 million viewers and a 0.8 among 25-54s. “Fox News Sunday” averaged 1.53 million viewers and a 0.6 rating among 25-54s.
 
In late night, NBC’s “Tonight Show with Jay Leno” finished first for the week, averaging 5.0 million total viewers and a 1.4 rating among adults 18-49. CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” had 3.8 million viewers and a 1.0 rating in the demo, with ABC’s “Nightline” bringing in 3.1 million viewers and a 0.9 18-49 rating. In late-late night, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” had 2.0 million total viewers and a 0.8 in 18-49s, with CBS’s “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” at 1.7 million viewers and a 0.5, ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” at 1.5 million viewers and a 0.5, and NBC’s “Last Call with Carson Daly” bringing in 1.1 million viewers and a 0.5 among 18-49s.
 
In morning shows, NBC’s “Today” was first with 5.6 million total viewers and a 4.3 household rating and 16 share, followed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” with 4.4 million viewers and a 3.4/12. CBS’s “Early Show” was third with 2.8 million total viewers and a 2.1/8.
 
CBS had the largest full daytime audience during the week, averaging 3.89 million viewers, but was tied for second among women 18-49 with a 1.3 rating. ABC had the second-largest audience, averaging 2.87 million viewers, but it was first among women 18-49 with a 1.4 rating. NBC had a full daytime audience of 2.64 million and was tied for second among women 18-49 with a 1.3 rating.
 
In evening network news for the week ended March 23, NBC’s “Nightly News with Brian Williams” was first among total viewers, averaging 8.92 million, but second among 25-54s with a 2.1 average rating. ABC’s “World News with Charles Gibson” was second in viewers, averaging 8.46 million, but first among 25-54s with a 2.2, while CBS’s “Evening News with Katie Couric” was third for the week with 6.62 million total viewers and a 1.8 25-54 rating.