StoneScratcher
July 20th, 2009, 2:43 am
Say it isn’t so, O!
Ratings for ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show (http://www.fancast.com/tv/The-Oprah-Winfrey-Show/9996/full-episodes)‘ for the July 4th week were her lowest since 1983. This is no fluke however, as Oprah’s numbers have been dropping significantly (32 percent) in the last five years.
What is the reason for the reigning Queen of Daytime’s sharp decline in popularity? In a New York Post article (http://www.nypost.com/seven/07172009/tv/game_o_ver__179659.htm), analyst Marc Berman of Mediaweek said, “There’s the fatigue factor. Oprah’s been on the air for two decades. She can last for as long as she wants to last. But it gets to the point where fans might be getting a little tired of her show.”
And yes, Oprah is in repeats now, and yes, it was a holiday week and Michael Jackson’s death was omnipresent on TV, but still, Oprah’s show garnered only 4 million viewers on average the July 4th week. In contrast, ‘Judge Judy (http://www.fancast.com/tv/Judge-Judy/90266/full-episodes),’ which was also in repeats, pulled in on average 5.1 million viewers.
Will Oprah rebound in the fall when she’s back with new episodes? The smart money would say yes, but still, the downward trend in her show the last few years is troubling. Berman went on to say, “Oprah is still, by and large, TV’s top talk show and the show itself is still healthy. She still owns bragging rights to the genre. But she’s not the force she used to be.”
http://www.fancast.com/blogs/oprah/oprahs-ratings-plummet-to-all-time-low/?cmpid=FCST_beta
Oprah better hurry up and put herself on her favorite things list!
Ratings for ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show (http://www.fancast.com/tv/The-Oprah-Winfrey-Show/9996/full-episodes)‘ for the July 4th week were her lowest since 1983. This is no fluke however, as Oprah’s numbers have been dropping significantly (32 percent) in the last five years.
What is the reason for the reigning Queen of Daytime’s sharp decline in popularity? In a New York Post article (http://www.nypost.com/seven/07172009/tv/game_o_ver__179659.htm), analyst Marc Berman of Mediaweek said, “There’s the fatigue factor. Oprah’s been on the air for two decades. She can last for as long as she wants to last. But it gets to the point where fans might be getting a little tired of her show.”
And yes, Oprah is in repeats now, and yes, it was a holiday week and Michael Jackson’s death was omnipresent on TV, but still, Oprah’s show garnered only 4 million viewers on average the July 4th week. In contrast, ‘Judge Judy (http://www.fancast.com/tv/Judge-Judy/90266/full-episodes),’ which was also in repeats, pulled in on average 5.1 million viewers.
Will Oprah rebound in the fall when she’s back with new episodes? The smart money would say yes, but still, the downward trend in her show the last few years is troubling. Berman went on to say, “Oprah is still, by and large, TV’s top talk show and the show itself is still healthy. She still owns bragging rights to the genre. But she’s not the force she used to be.”
http://www.fancast.com/blogs/oprah/oprahs-ratings-plummet-to-all-time-low/?cmpid=FCST_beta
Oprah better hurry up and put herself on her favorite things list!