Buy:Meatpants
05-29-03, 09:24 AM
From the SunTimes:
Score another victory for Oprah Winfrey and her fans: Effective next week, WLS-Channel 7 will move reruns of Winfrey's talk show back to 11:05 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Four months after "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was bumped to 12:05 a.m. to make room for ABC's new "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the ABC-owned station is switching the two shows around.
By moving Winfrey's reruns to the 11:05 p.m. post-"Nightline" slot, Channel 7 restores her show to the time period it had held since 1996. Winfrey's first-run slot continues at 9 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Under intense pressure from ABC's network bosses--and with Winfrey's acquiescence--Channel 7 agreed to move the Chicago-based franchise in late January to help jump-start Kimmel's new comedy/variety show.
Although Kimmel drew respectable ratings--averaging a 3.0 rating and 7 share during the May sweeps--they were down considerably from the 5.3/13 Winfrey had averaged in the time period last May. What's more, Winfrey's reruns dropped to a 2.5/8 in the 12:05 a.m. slot.
One Nielsen ratings point equals 33,513 households, and share is the percent of sets in use.
Emily Barr, president and general manager of Channel 7, called the latest move "a win-win for Chicago" because Winfrey's viewers will see her in a time period they preferred, while Kimmel's younger male audience is considered more likely to stay up past midnight to watch his show.
"Chicago is Oprah's town," Barr said. "She has an extremely loyal audience, many of whom have spent years watching her at 11:05 p.m. We want to give those viewers the opportunity to watch her there again.
"When 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' came to ABC, we wanted to insure a successful launch by anchoring it between two established programs, 'Nightline' and 'Oprah.' Now it is a strong show with a solid viewing foundation. With 'Oprah' as its lead in, we believe 'Jimmy Kimmel' will continue to enjoy great success."
Barr said Winfrey's recent decision to extend her show through the 2007-08 season was not a factor in Channel 7's move.
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I hope for his sake, this is an isolated case. But it's not good when you get bumped back to after midnight in a market like Chicago.
Score another victory for Oprah Winfrey and her fans: Effective next week, WLS-Channel 7 will move reruns of Winfrey's talk show back to 11:05 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Four months after "The Oprah Winfrey Show" was bumped to 12:05 a.m. to make room for ABC's new "Jimmy Kimmel Live," the ABC-owned station is switching the two shows around.
By moving Winfrey's reruns to the 11:05 p.m. post-"Nightline" slot, Channel 7 restores her show to the time period it had held since 1996. Winfrey's first-run slot continues at 9 a.m. Monday through Friday.
Under intense pressure from ABC's network bosses--and with Winfrey's acquiescence--Channel 7 agreed to move the Chicago-based franchise in late January to help jump-start Kimmel's new comedy/variety show.
Although Kimmel drew respectable ratings--averaging a 3.0 rating and 7 share during the May sweeps--they were down considerably from the 5.3/13 Winfrey had averaged in the time period last May. What's more, Winfrey's reruns dropped to a 2.5/8 in the 12:05 a.m. slot.
One Nielsen ratings point equals 33,513 households, and share is the percent of sets in use.
Emily Barr, president and general manager of Channel 7, called the latest move "a win-win for Chicago" because Winfrey's viewers will see her in a time period they preferred, while Kimmel's younger male audience is considered more likely to stay up past midnight to watch his show.
"Chicago is Oprah's town," Barr said. "She has an extremely loyal audience, many of whom have spent years watching her at 11:05 p.m. We want to give those viewers the opportunity to watch her there again.
"When 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' came to ABC, we wanted to insure a successful launch by anchoring it between two established programs, 'Nightline' and 'Oprah.' Now it is a strong show with a solid viewing foundation. With 'Oprah' as its lead in, we believe 'Jimmy Kimmel' will continue to enjoy great success."
Barr said Winfrey's recent decision to extend her show through the 2007-08 season was not a factor in Channel 7's move.
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I hope for his sake, this is an isolated case. But it's not good when you get bumped back to after midnight in a market like Chicago.