Executives at Warner Brothers have long believed that Ellen DeGeneres is the heir apparent to Oprah Winfrey in daytime TV. Still,they were startled by the news that a media research firm delivered to them last spring. The researchers from SmithGeiger,who had been hired to assess talk shows,convened to tell a group of six executives that The Ellen DeGeneres Show was,for the first time,on par with The Oprah Winfrey Show (and,in some cases,exceeding Oprah) in the minds of viewers. They had ample reason to conclude that this was DeGeneress moment. One of the executives closed the meeting room door,and said the data must not leave the room after all,Oprah had not yet decided that her talk show would end in September 2011. But once Oprah did decide,last November,Warner Brothers put the research to work,and before long it had brokered a deal,announcing on Wednesday night that NBCs 10 owned-and-operated stations would keep broadcasting DeGeneress show through 2014. The contract extension amounted to the first big bet on the post-Oprah landscape,and not necessarily a hard bet for NBC Universal to make. Viewer studies and ratings trends suggest that the effervescent DeGeneres is best positioned to break out from the talk show pack when Oprah leaves the stage. Why? Because her hour-long show is upbeat and inspirational,two traits that appeal to daytimes core female audience,according to the studies,which TV executives rely on as they make decisions. Equally important,the 52-year-old DeGeneres is seen as relaxed and relatable. Already,she is seen as more likable than Oprah,according to the Q Scores Company,which measures consumer preferences. DeGeneress star is rising at a stressful time for broadcast TV,when ratings and revenue for syndicated talk shows are far slimmer than they were at Oprahs peak. No one expects Ellen to literally replace Oprah in terms of popularity. But a hit show in syndication can still be a cash cow for its distributors and broadcasters; for Oprah,it remains the cornerstone of a multibillion-dollar media empire. Now Warner Brothers is positioning DeGeneres as the next benefactor of the businesses. Already,the hosts career moves like her decision to be a judge on American Idol,an enormous promotional platformhave seemingly been engineered to enhance her daytime host identity.
