By Joe Flint
When ABC launched "The View" in 1997, Barbara Walters and other
women chatting about the news and gossip of the day was a quaint
alternative to the soap operas and chair-throwing talk shows that
made up much of daytime television.
Lately though, there's been enough drama and fireworks both in
front of and behind the cameras at "The View" to make Jerry
Springer seem sedate and "General Hospital" feel realistic. The
revolving door of hosts and producers over the past few seasons has
led to what people close to the show describe as a "toxic
environment" on the set, and viewers have grown impatient and
fled.
Last season--the first since co-creator and host Ms. Walters
retired--the one-hour talk show averaged 2.7 million viewers in its
11 a.m. time slot. That was a decline of about 30% from the 2008-09
season when "The View" was at its peak and averaged 3.9 million
viewers, according to Nielsen. Among women age 25-54, a coveted
demographic among marketers, the losses have been closer to
40%.
Advertisers, in turn, have headed for the exits. In 2014, "The
View" took in $87.8 million in commercial revenue, down 26% from
2013 when it had $118.6 million, according to Kantar Media, which
tracks ad spending.
The new season of "The View" is less than a week away, and for
the second season in a row, none of the cast that started the prior
season is returning, except for Whoopi Goldberg. The hiring of
actress Rosie Perez and the return of Rosie O'Donnell last season
backfired as the former never seemed comfortable with the
environment on the show and the latter again had personality
conflicts with her on-air and off-air colleagues. A spokeswoman for
Ms. O'Donnell cited personal reasons for her departure.
In a statement, ABC News said it "learned a lot last year" and
that it starts this season "with a great team in place."
In the hopes of restoring goodwill with its audience, this
season "The View" is bringing back popular original panelist Joy
Behar, who left in 2013. Sherri Shepherd, who spent six years on
the show, will also pop up as an occasional contributor.
Other co-hosts for this season include Candace Cameron Bure, who
played D.J. Tanner on "Full House"; comedian Michelle Collins; ABC
News journalist Paula Faris; and Raven-Symoné, who joined the talk
show late last season and is best known for the Disney Channel show
"That's So Raven" and NBC's "The Cosby Show."
Another potential headache is the fate of Ms. Goldberg, who is
entering the final season of her contract, people familiar with the
matter said. A representative for Ms. Goldberg didn't respond to
requests for comment.
The network also needs someone to run the show. On Monday, ABC
said Bill Wolff was leaving as executive producer of "The View"
after just one season. Candi Carter, a former producer on "The
Oprah Winfrey Show," has been brought in as a consulting producer
while the network looks for a full-time showrunner.
Created by Ms. Walters and former longtime executive producer
Bill Geddie, "The View" managed to strike a balance between serious
debate show and celebrity fluff. The strong opinions of the
panelists over the years including Ms. Goldberg, Ms. O'Donnell,
Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Jenny McCarthy often led to sparks on
camera and made "The View" part of the cultural zeitgeist and a
must-visit for presidential candidates.
"The View" has spawned several all-female copycat shows
including CBS's "The Talk" and the Warner Bros. syndicated show
"The Real." NBC is also planning a "View"-like makeover for its
talk show hosted by Meredith Vieira, a founding co-host of "The
View."
Despite its relatively small audience, "The View" is considered
a signature show for Walt Disney Co.'s ABC. Although its profit has
declined sharply, according to network insiders, no executive wants
to be the one who pulls the plug on Ms. Walters's creation. Ben
Sherwood, who took over as president of the Disney/ABC TV Group
earlier this year, is keeping close tabs on the overhaul and is
pushing for the show to regain its cultural and political
significance.
Another reason ABC may be reluctant to cancel "The View" is that
there is no guarantee that something new would do any better. The
daytime TV landscape has been littered with high-profile talk show
disappointments in recent years, including efforts from Katie
Couric, Anderson Cooper and Queen Latifah.
Indeed, some of the female audience has migrated to cable during
the day. Investigation Discovery, a cable network owned by
Discovery Communications Inc. that focuses on the true-crime genre,
has grown its daytime audience among women age 25-54 in the past
five years.
The question now will be whether the shuffling of hosts on "The
View" will lure back viewers and advertisers.
"'Who are they?' is the response I most readily get when I
mention them, " Billie Gold, a vice president and director of
programming at Dentsu Inc., an advertising and media-buying firm,
said of the show's new additions.
The return of Ms. Behar should help, Ms. Gold said, but not
enough to return "The View" to its glory days.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 01, 2015 18:36 ET (22:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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