When Oprah Winfrey ends her syndicated talk show Wednesday, millions of fans will not be the only ones facing a void.
TV station executives who have lived with what's come to be known as the "Oprah Factor" are buying, selling, hoping and praying to get a piece of the audience of one of the most lucrative franchises in television. Tens of millions of dollars are at stake.
With Oprah leaving, it's the Wild West in lots of cities like Baltimore," says Bob Papper, Hofstra University professor of media studies. "She provided this monster lead-in to the local news that drove ratings for two hours straight after her show ended in some cities. With that going away, everybody's scrambling for a piece of the action."
Nationally, those already grabbing for a piece of the leftover Oprah pie include Katie Couric, Ellen DeGeneres, Anderson Cooper and even TV judges.
In Baltimore, "Ellen" will replace "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on WBAL-TV starting on Labor Day, with the new syndicated Anderson Cooper show slipping into the station's 2 p.m. slot in front of "Dr. Oz" at 3. WBAL has been the market leader at 4 p.m. for almost a decade thanks to the one-time Baltimore news anchor. ("Oprah" reruns will air in that time slot until the fall.)
Meanwhile, Couric — who just left the anchor desk at CBS News — is in talks with ABC to launch a daily talk show. Expected to be announced soon, the deal could bring the popular former "Today" show host to the lowly rated WMAR at 4 p.m. Her star power could radically alter the local ratings landscape next September.
But no new show will ever match the "Oprah Factor." Winfrey's show had the power not just to win its own time slot, but also to deliver viewers to local newscasts that followed her show in more than 200 cities from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Winfrey's departure after more than two decades of dominance has at least two station managers in Baltimore thinking they could be the new No. 1 in the late afternoon.
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