'Anderson' On 'Oprah' 's Time In Washington

Life Beyond Oprah Comes Into Focus

Appropriately, an Oprah spin-off, Sony's Dr. Oz, can be declared the nominal Oprah replacement, having snagged her coveted news lead-in slot in more than 80 markets. But it's no guarantee of success. With Oprah gone in the fall, the time period will be a wide open and highly competitive battleground where it’s quite possible no show or station will carve out a wide advantage.

By P.J. Bednarski

TVNewsCheck, May 19, 2011 -- 7:29 AM EDT

The end of The Oprah Winfrey Show is bigger than the end of the most dominant talk show on daytime television. It’s also a lifestyle change for some stations.

In many markets, the station with Winfrey on at 4 p.m. had an automatic ratings leg up over the competition, boosting its 5 p.m. newscast and the entire evening lineup.

This was no temporary condition. Even with declining viewership, the Oprah halo effect was reliable for most of the last two decades. She was a part of their environment and seven million still watch every day.

DMA	Market	Station	Owner	Time	New Show
1	New York	WABC	ABC	4 p.m.	Local news
2	Los Angeles	KABC	ABC	4 p.m.	Dr. Oz
3	Chicago	WLS	ABC	9 a.m.	Morning Rush
4	Philadelphia	WPVI	ABC	4 p.m.	Local news
5	Dallas	WFAA	Belo	4 p.m.	Dr. Oz
6	San Francisco	KGO	ABC	4 p.m.	Local news
7	Boston	WCVB	Hearst	4 p.m.	Ellen DeGeneres
8	Atlanta	WSB	Cox	4 p.m.	Local news
9	Washington	WJLA	Albritton	4 p.m.	Anderson Cooper
10	Houston	KHOU	Belo	4 p.m.	Undisclosed
11	Detroit	WXYZ	Scripps	4 p.m.	Dr. Oz
12	Phoenix	KTVK	Belo	3 p.m.	Dr. Oz
13	Seattle	KING	Belo	4 p.m.	Undisclosed
14	Tampa	WFLA	Media General	4 p.m.	Dr. Oz
15	Minn-St.Paul	WCCO	CBS	4 p.m.	Ellen DeGeneres
16	Miami	WFOR	CBS	4 p.m.	Dr. Phil
17	Denver	KCNC	CBS	4 p.m.	Local news
18	Cleveland	WEWS	Scripps	4 p.m.	Dr. Oz
19	Orlando	WFTV	Cox	4 p.m.	Dr. Oz
20	Sacramento	KCRA	Hearst	4 p.m.	Undisclosed
21	St. Louis	KSDK	Gannett	4 p.m.	Undisclosed
22	Portland	KGW	Cox	4 p.m.	Local news
23	Charlotte	WSOC	Cox	4 p.m.	Dr. Oz
24	Pittsburgh	WTAE	Hearst	4 p.m.	Dr. Oz
25	Raleigh-Durham	WTVD	ABC	4 p.m.	Local news

The show cost a fortune, stations would complain. But it paid dividends to the newscasts that followed.

The last new show will air next Wednesday (May 25). The next day, she’ll switch to reruns until the show leaves the air for good in September.

That’s when the fun really begins because most “Winfrey stations” have already picked the show that will replace her in their market. They are now hoping they made the right bet.

The winner so far seems to be Dr. Oz, a talk show whose star, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, got his start as a frequent Winfrey guest. The Sony Pictures Television show will enter its third year in syndication this fall. Sony says it’s picked up 83 of those “Winfrey spots.”

“I think that’s more than all the other syndicated shows combined,” says John Weiser, president of Sony Pictures Television.

“And we’ll be in approximately 150 markets where we will be the news lead,” he says, adding in the non-Winfrey stations that also will air Oz at 4. “That’s gigantic.” And Weiser thinks it's possible Sony will pick up more converts between now and September.

After Oz, it appears Warner Bros.’ The Ellen DeGeneres Show has captured the second most Winfrey spots, with more than 25 going the comedian’s way. Other syndicated shows that have inherited some of the coveted spots: CBS Television Distribution’s Dr. Phil, which in some cases is moving from 3 p.m. where the show now plays in many markets; the top-rated Judge Judy, also from CBS; and Warner Bros.’ Anderson, a newcomer featuring Anderson Cooper.

In the Top 25 markets, according to a survey of syndicators and stations, Oz will get Winfrey spots in nine markets, including Los Angeles. Ellen will grab two (Boston and Minneapolis-St. Paul). Dr. Phil (Miami) and Anderson (Washington) will take one each.

In six Top 25 markets, stations have chosen to eschew syndication and run local news. That’s the tack that ABC is taking in New York, Philadelphia and Raleigh-Durham, N.C., and what CBS has decided to do in Denver, and Cox in Atlanta and Portland, Ore. Most of them are launching their newscasts on May 26, the day after Winfrey’s farewell show, while other stations plan to keep running Winfrey reruns until September.

In Chicago, where the show began and will end, Winfrey airs at 9 a.m., as it always has. ABC-owned WLS is substituting a new local morning show, Morning Rush after the farewell.