After the premiere of her 24th season, Oprah Winfrey has a long year ahead of her!
Whitney Houston‘s tell-all interview was an energetic start to a show in which viewership has been consistently slipping for the past year.
According to the Nielsen ratings, Oprah fell under 7 million viewers last season. Not only is that down 7% from last year, but during a July rerun, the talk show queen had her lowest ratings since her 1985 debut.
There are many reasons given for the decline considering that Live with Regis and Kelly, Jerry Springer, Maury Povich and Martha Stewart all lost viewers this season, yet Oprah is a specific case.
It’s been said that Winfrey has alienated her conservative audience. First, with the endorsement of Barack Obama‘s presidential campaign and her recent book club selection, Eckhart Tolle‘s A New Earth, a new age religion tome.
But Janice Peck, author of Age of Oprah, says that young people just aren’t that into Momma O. Adding, “They see Oprah as kind of like who their mom likes. This is not a good sign for her.”
Despite the decline, the Oprah Winfrey Show is still the most-watched talk show by a wide margin, yet it remains to be seen whether she will renew her contract, which expires September 2011.
Maybe she’ll retire next year?
[Image via WENN.]