TV Ratings: CBS Reported To Be Concerned As 'The Talk' Tanks

Drama behind the scenes of daytime talk shows is heating up as Sharon Osbourne’s CBS show “The Talk” sinks in the ratings against ABC rival “The View,” reports The NY Post.

CBS insiders say producers and network execs are “panicking” after “The Talk’s” ratings dropped to 1.5 million, half of “The View’s” audience of 3 million.

One insider told Page Six, “ ‘The View’ has been growing at a huge rate during the COVID lockdown, and ‘The Talk’ is literally the lowest-rated show in the whole CBS lineup.

“At one point, ‘The Talk’ and ‘The View’ were only 30,000 viewers apart … Sharon Osbourne and Sheryl Underwood’s plan of getting rid of Marie Osmond was clearly a mistake in terms of ratings and number of viewers.”

Page Six exclusively reported in September that Osmond was ousted after just one season as co-host when Osbourne and Underwood went to CBS execs and threatened to quit unless she was canned. While her former co-hosts’ motivations for pushing her out were unclear, Osmond gave the quintessential showbiz excuse of wishing to spend more time with family and to “pursue other projects.”

But the CBS insider said the rotating host roster — which includes Amanda Kloots, Rumer Willis and Elaine Welteroth, who is stepping in to replace Eve — has not been delivering numbers, leaving producers and executives “panicked and frustrated.”

Meanwhile in synidcation,  TV Newscheck reports ratings for Jeopardy rose 22% to a new season high 6.0 live-plus-same-day national Nielsen rating and led all of syndication for the first time in five months in the session ending Nov. 15, which was the first week after the death of its beloved host Alex Trebek.

The week was also a strong one for several other top-tier shows. The talk show race ended in a dead heat as Live with Kelly and Ryan rallied 11% to a new season high 2.0 and tied Dr. Phil for first place as the good doctor delivered an 18% increase to a 2.0.

Third-place Ellen DeGeneres was flat at a 1.2. However, both hot sophomores Kelly Clarkson and Tamron Hall scored double-digit improvements, with Clarkson climbing 11% to a 1.0 and Hall right behind, surging 29% in household to a 0.9 and 33% in the advertiser-coveted women 25-54 age group. Both shows matched their best rating of the season.

Wendy Williams was another notable talk winner, leaping 11% to a new season high 1.0 to tie Clarkson.

In courtroom proceedings, Judge Judy equaled its season high, jumping 9% to a 5.9 to overwhelm all of daytime and to come within a tenth of a point to matching Jeopardy’s 6.0 at the top of the household ratings chart.