Oprah in Trouble!
Filed under: TV News > Oprah Winfrey
Have we finally grown tired of Oprah Winfrey????
The answer (sadly) seems to be a resounding "Yes!"
The New York Times just wrote this article about the tarnishing of the O brand and they point out some startling facts.
- The average audience for The Oprah Winfrey Show has fallen nearly 7 percent this year, according to Nielsen Media Research — its third straight year of decline.
- The circulation of O, The Oprah Magazine, has fallen by more than 10 percent in the last three years, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, and the magazine is now seeking a new editor in chief after the announced retirement of its longtime steward, Amy Gross.
- Oprah’s Big Give, an ABC philanthropic reality show, beat every program on television except American Idol in its premiere week this winter, but steadily lost nearly one-third of its audience during the rest of its eight-week run, according to Nielsen.
- Her endorsement of the presidential bid of Senator Barack Obama appears to have alienated some of the middle-aged white women who make up the bulk of her television audience, many of whom support Senator Hillary Clinton.
- Ms. Winfrey has lost viewers in some markets while The Ellen DeGeneres Show has gained.
- Ms. Winfrey is also continuing to develop new programs. A spinoff talk show featuring Dr. Mehmet Oz is planned for 2009, and earlier this year she signed a development deal for television projects featuring Kirstie Alley. A syndicated talk/cooking show featuring Rachael Ray has been less successful and has recently fallen out of Nielsen’s list of the top 25 syndicated programs.
- If Ms. Winfrey has cut back any part of her schedule, it has been in appearances in support of Mr. Obama. Following high-profile rallies just prior to the Iowa caucuses in December and leading up to Super Tuesday in February, Ms. Winfrey all but disappeared from the campaign trail, leading some pundits to wonder whether she had gauged a negative effect on her business.
- A Gallup poll conducted in October, shortly after Ms. Winfrey announced her support of Mr. Obama, found that her “favorable” rating fell by 8 percentage points, to 66 percent, from 74 percent in January 2007; her “unfavorable” mark jumped by more than half, to 26 percent from 17 percent.
Wow.
Tough times for Winfrey!!!
What can Oprah do to turn things around?????
[Photo via Getty Images.]
come out as a lezbot with gayle
firsssssssttttttt
ONOES!!!!
She should just marry Gayle, Get the fuck off our TV's, and live happily ever after in Lezzie Bliss.
They just had to throw Barack in there. Haters!!!
www.talulazoeapple.com
It's Ovah for Big O!
That's what you get for supporting an idiot just because he is black.
^^
That's what you get for forgeting that you are a woman and need to help women.
It's called over exposure. People see her everywhere and hear her everywhere. I think it's probably just getting to people and they are probably getting tired of hearing her preach to them. Some of her shows are good and others it's like.. "who cares". I've never bought or read the magazine as it's expensive and seeing her on the cover every month is also another turn-off. She should have occasionally used some regular women or other people on the cover. Do I really need to shell out what like $4 for some stupid magazine with her on the cover. I'm sure deep down inside people think about the gazillions of dollars she earns every year and find that nauseating in these hard economic times.
Perez, if you are going to start posting article summaries, at least show both sides. That article had someone respond (convincingly) to all of the statements you have pulled without context from the main article.
finally
first!!!!
More people are tuning into Ellen. Not just GLBT. It has a lot of mainstream viewers too.
Not too worried about Oprah.
She'll be fine.
you know, I read the same article earlier and came to a very different conclusion - that people watching ALL tv shows is down and that nobody is worried about Oprah's popularity, except for fundies who can't believe she likes the New Age stuff. but, who cares about them?
Its just a matter of time..
But Oprah is nice though with a big heart, but at this time ppl want to see more of the sterotypes and all that crap
My mom is a white upper middle-class woman who votes for Clinton, but when Oprah comes on.. She's like clued to the TV!
Oprah doesn't have to do anything. She's rich enough.It may be time to retire for her.
oprah needs to have more fun on her show.
You can't kill evil like Oprah…. it's just a slump. She'll be around forever.
We should all have such 'tough times.' Her financial empire is like some countries annual budget. Somehow I think Oprah will be fine.
SHE HAS THE RIGHT TO SUPPORT HOSHE WANTS…..FUCK THE RACIST MIDDLE AGED REDNECK…..AMERICA IS SO FUCKING RACIST IT HURTS….NO WONDER THE ECONOMY IS IN THE TOILETS…….FUCK OFF RACIST
TOM HANKS, WILL SMITH…SCARLET ETC SUPPORT OBAMA SO DONT GO AND WATCH THEIR MOVIES NO MATTER HOW TALENTED THEY ARE…..NEVER SEEN OR HEARD SUCH CROCK OF SHIT
Finally!
to bad the nielsen system is out-dated and does not represent any kind of real rating, why don't you write about that………former nielsen family member……….probably only 1/3, if not less of the country is still hooked up to that.
Nothing lasts forever. Oprah has had a good run and made lots of money for her retirement years. She will do just fine. Will miss her on t.v. though.
Well its quite obvious that the decline started after she started becoming more and more vocal about her support of Obama. Many women feel the race has brought ugly sexist sentiment directed at Hillary, much of it from the often patronising Obama camp, and people resent her support of his campaign- especially women, who happen to be her entire viewership. She never saw fit to support a candidate till now, and people resent the fact that it may be due to her close relationship to the Obamas and her own personal aims to have a "friend" in the White House. Leaders and "influential people" need to realise that in a democracy, the public always has the last word. I guess Oprah just heard it.
Vice President Oprah Winfrey.
O needs to once and for all come out as Gayle's big lesbian lovah and book a double wedding with Ellen and Portia. That will raise O's stock!
First, Oprah's show has become an hour of preaching about New Age garbage like The Secret, and Eckhart Tolle. Second, she's completely lost touch with normal people and makes no apology for it. Obscene wealth seems to do that to people.
Oprah can come out of the closet and marry Gale. This would place her in the same sphere as Ellen and garnish some of her viewers.
The Oprah show isn't what it used to be.. I'll watch it if Julia Roberts is on or some other big celebrity, but lately its been alot of Dr.Oz and he is totally creepy… Oprah needs better topics for her show or no one is going to watch it anymore, I don't want to get political but her backing Obama was a mistake as well because most of her demographic is white women who will probably vote for Hilary..Still love O when are her and Gail getting married?
I DVR her show out of habit, and I don't watch 99% of them. She needs to go back to what people want to see. Good stories, intriguing stories, and the people behind them. I get so SICK of her parading her celebrity friends on like some type of weird collection. I do not want to waste an hour of my precious time hearing about what Will Smith eats for breakfast, and the kind of soap he used when he visited Oprah at her house.
Get these Two Ni@@ers off this site…I hate them
Rich and Black…….
It was her choice to choose her race over her gender. She is now paying for her choice.
Go Hillary!
As if you could ever dream of having a problem like Oprah's. There may a decline in viewers just like every other program this season.
Oprah is fine and will continue to be fine.
Your girl Hillary now that is another issue!
Americans need to grow up and realise the grass IS NOT greener on the other side. Oprah is the best. She will help anyone of them to seek justice and this is how they pay her back.. with a RACE card.
Oprah is the best.
Aww poor Oprah♥, but I'm sure she'll bounce back from this, she's amazing. We should all try 2 be az careing az Oprah♥ iz. I'd so eat her snatch 4 real to.
I TOTALLY AGRE WITH #29 LAS…SHE NEED TO GET OFF THIS NEW AGE RELIGION MESS…ALSO HER SUPPORT FOR OBAMA MAY HAVE HURT HER BUT SHE'LL COME BACK…LIKE SOME ONE SAID EARLIER, OVER EXPOSURE…I GET TIRED OF HER SOMETIMES AND I JUST TURN THE CHANNEL
Oprah has been around for almost 25 years. Off course her popularity is going down but she still has nothing to worry about. Getting a spot on her show still sells everything.
Re: She chose Obama – Moron. She shouldn't choose a black because she's black, but it's okay to choose a woman because she's a woman. Go back to reading Cosmo and drinking Mimosas.
Oprah is an over-indulgent idiot! She is completely out of touch with the American middle class and has no idea whatsoever what real people want or need.
It is also worth noting that in her recent tv series. Big Give, she did NOT contribute 1 dime but rather relied on the network and her pals to donate money. She is really a cheap bitch.
I have been so over Ophra forever, she is so full of herself I can't stand to even hear her voice let alone watch her show.
good fucking riddance.
she needs to stop telling people what top do with their lives and worry about her own cottage cheese ass.
WOMEN! OPRAH DOESN'T CARE ABOUT YOU SHE ONLY CARES ABOUT HER MONEY.
FIRST OF ALL - let's not forget how much this woman has done for the world. SHE GIVES BACK A LOT.
SECOND OF ALL - Are we really that ignorant of a nation to believe that it hurt her to show her support of Obama? Hello Morons out there - HE IS GOING TO BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT.
THIRD - All you naysayers of her work out there - you are probably jealous and racist. She is a strong, intelligent, creative woman WITH DRIVE, something a lot of women in this country are in dire need of.
HOWEVER - having said all this, I admire Oprah, but I have to agree on one thing - it seems in recent years she has taken on a bit of a "i'm better than anyone else" attitude and THAT might be her downfall. I miss the old Oprah, the one who didn't interrupt her guests, the one who doesn't give snotty looks to her over anxious audience. Come back down to earth Oprah - we're all here waiting for you.
She needs to stop the NEW AGE philosophy she's pushing. Many christian women have stopped watching her because of it. I really don't think her declining ratings are because of Mr. Obama.
TO # 33 CHUCK…..DON'T HAVE, CONGRATULATE….YOU LITTLE TROLL
I have been so over Oprah forever, she is so full of herself I can't stand to even hear her voice let alone watch her show.
WoW! Aren't you so funny Uker - "cottage cheese ass" - oh my god, that is the funniest thing I've ever heard.
Oh wait, that's right! That's the lamest - oldest joke on the planet.
Get a life asshole, and while you're at it - you might want to take a look at your own smelly ass, I'm sure it's not attractive.
She can turn Gail around a give her asshole a good licking!
Shave her head! Just kidding, Oprah will never go out off style.
So THAT'S why she's becoming an upscale Jerry Springer…gotta boost those ratings with stuff like the pregant man!…pretty soon we'll be seeing brawls…maybe a real-life celebrity death match!…starring Perez!…
White people have finally figured out that Oprah is a racist who puts her blackness ahead of all else. After all those years of white women supporting her she threw them under the bus for Barack Obama who likes to insult women by calling them "sweetie". How can anyone support her when she supports a racist, misogynistic pig?
She has how many billions? I wouldnt worry about Ms. Oprah
When she first started backing Obama I was a little on edge. But then she started hocking that shitty book, A New Earth, and hyping her online class for Eckart Tolly and that shit is WIERD!!! She is convincing people how great this book is and it is SOOO wrong, She has lost my respect for forcing this garbage down peoples throat. And…. Dr Oz was cool at first… but enough.. Its not that interesting anymore!
Obama is NOT going to be president. He is inexperienced, untrustworthy, racist and a misogynist. If the dems don't pick Hillary they are TOAST and we'll have riots in the street when McCain wins.
yeah!! i
SORRY….DON'T HATE CONGRATULATE…SO WHAT HES'S BLACK AND RICH…FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO BE JEALOUS OF CHILD
Oprah can crawl straight up Obama's asshole! and so can all the kool aid kumbuya drinkers that follow that empty suited monkey! KISS MY WHITE ASS!
Oprah's smart and stupid rich, she knew some people would be upset with her endorsement of Obama. But glad she chose th stand up for something instead of money and TV ratings.
she should be commended.
The Church of Oprah is sinking!! She got WAYYYY too weird for me over the past years and was becoming cult like.
I haven't supported anything of hers for years now!
I think it has more to do with her support of SCIENTOLOGY
Oprah had an agenda and it is not good.
2 reasons for her decline:
1. Supporting Obama just because he is BLACK, while it is clear that any white person with such weak credential and questionable choices (his church…) would not even run.
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2. Giving money to schools in the richest country in Africa, instead of giving back to the country that made her successful and famous- America.
I think it has less to do with her endorsement of Obama and more to do with her being full of herself. I'm a middle aged white woman and I don't care who she endorses. Her show has gotten stale, and she doesn't seem to want to change it up. She knows it all and doesn't need to change. It bugs me that it is assumed I will be swayed by her endorsement of any candidate. What influence should a celebrity have?. Do we care that Perez is a Hillary supporter? I am a registered democrat, haven't missed an election in almost 30 years, and don't like either candidate all that much. Their platforms aren't all that different. Clinton comes off as stubborn and arrogant, while Obama seems to be just coasting through unaware of his negatives. It underestimates my intellegence to assume that I'd vote for her because she is a white woman or him because he is black.
She made a huge mistake by supporting Obama! Hahah
eah!!!
i love
How much longer does she want to keep her fat ass on TV. I'm sick of her. I NEVER watch her. Here's a tip. Don't have Tom Cruise on anymore.
I find the fact that Oprah supported Senator Obama as a reason for her decline absolutely ridiculous! Lots of celebrities come out and endorse a candidate and look who is on top! Senator Obama! And, he has achieved that through running an honest and credible campaign. I am a caucasion woman who initially supported Hillary but now find that she is pathetic. Not only for lying to the American public but for trying to make her own set of rules and for thinking she was entitled to win the primary. Even if you are Oprah your ratings aren't always and forever going to remain on top. I have worked for top publishing firms and magazine sales are tough and competitive and this economy isn't helping.
#58 it's not nice to talk about your relatives like that
The stronger candidate was Hillary, but Oprah is so blind by race, that she supported Obama and not the better PERSON for the job, who happened to be a woman.
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She has lost all credibility after that, and forgeting to donate money to an American school, also made it clear she sees her home in AFRICA.
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If that's how she feels (that Africa is her home) she should go there, and have a career there.
Don't take American dollars and forget all about the poor people of America.
If Oprah does a show with Kirstie Alley she is going to regret it! It's going to be just like what happened to Barbara Walters with Rosie O'Donnell….except that Rosie wasn't in a cult that was trying desperately to convert Barbara!! Oh, and the big give show SUCKED. I wanted to punch every one of those assholes they had on there as contestants.