Thursday, March 28, 2024

CBS May Have to Cancel or Move “The Talk” in Ratings Chess Game to Keep “Drew Barrymore” Alive in the Afternoon

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CBS Daytime is about to get an overhaul of some kind. Things are not working out as planned.

The biggest problem isn’t even “The Talk,” which has dropped in the ratings to 1.5 million viewers per day. The larger issue is what’s happening at 9am, when the CBS-owned “Drew Barrymore Show” is dying against “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”

Barrymore’s show kicked out the Judge Judy spin off “Hot Bench,” which currently has no station in New York. Even so, “Hot Bench” is a ratings hit with 1.7 million viewers. It held its own against Ripa and Seacrest at 9am. There’s no doubt WCBS wants it back at 9am.

That would move Barrymore — now suffering with just 600,000 viewers per morning —  to 2pm with other talk shows like Ellen DeGeneres and Kelly Clarkson. If Barrymore were in that slot, at least it could find a personality. Right now, the former movie actress is trying unsuccessfully to do topical shows for 9am and they don’t work.

So what about “The Talk”? Without the originator, Sarah Gilbert, “The Talk” is not a pedestrian mix. Sharon Osbourne rules the roost. But it’s doing half the numbers of “The View” on ABC and has no news value like that show. It may indeed be time to let “The Talk” go.

Let’s not forget it was invented to accommodate  Julie Chen because she was married to network chief Les Moonves. But they’re gone. And if “The Talk” isn’t getting the numbers of the beloved soap opera it killed, “As the World Turns”– which left the air with around 2.6 million — why keep it at all? At this point, Osbourne– if she wanted to– could start her own syndicated series and make more money.

Stay tuned…

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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