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For Daytime to Click, Anderson Cooper Must Do a 180 With Women Viewers

By PopEater Staff Posted Oct 1st 2010 -- 06:00PM

Anderson Cooper received some good news this week: CNN signed him up to a multi-year contract extension for his nightly newscast, 'AC360,' and it was also announced that the silver-haired newsman will launch his own daytime talk show next fall that will cater to women and stay-at-home types.

The unnamed show will cover social trends, entertainment and human interest topics, Telepictures announced Thursday, and will debut next fall. Whether it will be a hit will depend on how well Cooper can connect with female viewers, but if his ratings for 'AC360' are any indicator, he may have a hard road ahead.

According to Nielsen, his newscast just wrapped up a quarter that saw a purging of female viewers. From June 28 to Sept. 24, the show attracted 57% fewer women in the coveted 25-54 demographic compared to the same time last year. The show now averages more young males than females.

But his women woes are just the beginning. The depressing Nielsen numbers also indicate 'AC360' just had its worst quarter ever in both total viewers and the 25-54 demo. This year? 582,000 total viewers. Last year? 1.2 million.

CNN has made it clear Cooper's their man, with network president Ken Jautz calling him the "standard bearer for the type of journalism that CNN has become famous for."

So will daytime be different for the host? He's had several memorable guest runs filling in for Regis Philbin on 'Live,' among many other appearances in the day, so viewers know he's good at witty banter and light subjects.

Since the daytime show was announced, headlines asking 'Anderson Cooper: The Next Oprah?' have been popping up. The TV Queen is set to air her final 'Oprah Winfrey Show' on Sept. 9, leaving a void that Telepictures may believe Cooper can fill.

Cooper called the daytime deal "an exciting opportunity to show another side of myself."