Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers

[RockHardNYC]

Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace

This is what happens when you've been turning out the grind day after day, year after year, and you get bored and leave the asylum to a bunch of gay crazies.

If anyone can woo the million back, maybe it's Ellen. Does anyone know if she cares?

[PeterRS]

The New York Times has a firewall and those who do not pay can not read articles. Can RockHardNYC kindly copy and paste the relevant section please.

[Lonnie]

Ellen DeGeneres Loses 1 Million Viewers After Apologies for Toxic Workplace

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” a sturdy daytime hit, has had a steep ratings decline since the host addressed accusations by former staff members that led to firings and an internal investigation.

 

Amid speculation about the future of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Warner Bros. said it would return next season.Credit...NBC

By John Koblin

• March 22, 2021

When Ellen DeGeneres returned from a summer hiatus to open the 18th season of her daytime talk show in September, she came armed with an apology. “I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,” she said. “I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry to the people who were affected.” Those remarks came in the wake of reports of workplace misconduct at “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Viewers tuned in for the apology: This year’s season opener had the highest ratings for an “Ellen” premiere in four years. And then they tuned out. “Ellen” has lost more than a million viewers since September, according to the research firm Nielsen, averaging 1.5 million viewers over the last six months, down from 2.6 million in the same period last year.

The decline has come at a time when workplace behavior, in Hollywood and elsewhere, has come under intense scrutiny against a backdrop of protest and social change. It is a startling setback for one of daytime television’s most successful franchises and for Ms. DeGeneres, who was at the forefront of an earlier cultural shift when, as the star of a prime-time network sitcom in the 1990s, she announced that she is gay.

The show’s loss of more than a million viewers translates to a 43 percent decline, representing a steeper drop than any of its competitors. This TV season, “Ellen,” the winner of dozens of Emmys since its start in 2003, is no longer in the same league as traditional rivals like “Dr. Phil” (2.5 million) and “Live: With Kelly and Ryan” (2.7 million). Now it finds itself uncomfortably close to shows hosted by Maury Povich (1.4 million), Kelly Clarkson (1.3 million), Rachael Ray (1.2 million), Tamron Hall (1.1 million) and Jerry Springer’s former security guard Steve Wilkos (1.1 million).

 

The loss of viewers includes a 38 percent decline in her core audience, adult women under 54, according to Nielsen. And it appears to have put a dent in the show’s ad revenue. From September to January of the 2019-20 season, “Ellen” brought in $131 million from advertisers, according to the research firm Kantar. That has fallen to $105 million for the same period in 2020-21, a drop of about 20 percent.

 

Ms. DeGeneres, 63, has publicly mused on the possibility of leaving the show in recent years, and the spotlight on her workplace troubles has added to the questions about her future. Her talk-show contract runs through next year. Warner Bros., the division of AT&T’s WarnerMedia that produces “Ellen,” confirmed that the show would return for a 19th season in September, after her usual summer hiatus. A spokeswoman for Ms. DeGeneres declined to comment when asked if the 2021-22 television season would be her last.

“‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’ remains one of the top three highest-rated syndicated talk shows this season,” David McGuire, an executive vice president of programming at Telepictures, a Warner Bros. subsidiary, said in a statement. He suggested other reasons for the decline, like changing viewing habits during the pandemic.

“While broadcast is down across the board and Covid has been challenging for production, we are looking forward to bringing back our live audiences and a 19th season filled with all of the hilarious and heartwarming moments that have made ‘Ellen’ one of the longest running and most successful talk shows in history,” he added.

Whether or not the next season of “Ellen” is its last, WarnerMedia and Ms. DeGeneres are together for the long haul. In 2019, the company made a deal with her to produce four programs for its HBO Max streaming platform, including a home-design challenge series; a dating show; an animated show, “Little Ellen”; and a documentary series on inventors made in conjunction with the Albert Einstein estate. (In another deal, she recently signed a multiyear pact with Discovery to produce natural history documentary.

 

Continue reading the main story

 

Public perception of Ms. DeGeneres started to change in July when BuzzFeed reported that several of the show’s former and current staff members said they had confronted “racism, fear and intimidation” on the set. Several staff members also said producers had sexually harassed them. Warner Bros. investigated the workplace and found “deficiencies.” Three high-level producers were fired, including Ed Glavin, an executive producer; Jonathan Norman, a co-executive producer; and Kevin Leman, the head writer. Ms. DeGeneres apologized to her staff before addressing her viewers in September.

Some observers believe the accusations may have weakened Ms. DeGeneres’s relationship with her audience. The host built her show as an oasis from the outside world, a place of goofy dancing, light jokes, cash giveaways to surprised audience members and high-wattage celebrity guests. Several years ago, she adopted “be kind” as her motto, in response to the suicide of Tyler Clementi, a gay college student who took his own life after being bullied.

“Her brand is not just being fairly nice — it is ‘Be Kind,’” said Stephen Galloway, the dean of Chapman University’s Dodge College of film and media arts. “She’s chosen two words to stamp herself. You cannot have hypocrisy better defined than when you’ve chosen those two words to define yourself and everyone is seeing the opposite is true inside your show.

“The reason the incident with the producers was such a difficult and perilous moment is it’s the first time where something surfaced to indicate that a family — Ellen’s own professional family — was dysfunctional,” he continued.

Ms. DeGeneres referred to her motto in her on-air apology. “Being known as the Be Kind Lady is a tricky position to be in,” she said. “So let me give you some advice. If anyone is thinking of changing their title or giving yourself a nickname, do not go with the Be Kind Lady.” She added that she was indeed the cheerful person she appeared to be on television, but was also someone who experienced moments of sadness, anxiety and impatience.

In addition to her daytime show, Ms. DeGeneres is also a prime-time star for NBC — and her show for that network, “Ellen’s Game of Games,” also a Warner production, has lost 32 percent of its viewers this season, as well as 35 percent in the adult demographic important to advertisers.

Even with the complications affecting all talk shows during the pandemic, “Ellen,” with its loss of 43 percent of its audience, has suffered a steeper decline than its rivals. “Dr. Phil” is down 22 percent, and “The Kelly Clarkson” show has lost 26 percent of its viewers. Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest’s show has lost just 3 percent, and “Tamron Hall” is down 9 percent.

 

Ms. DeGeneres beat the odds to make her show a success. There is a television graveyard filled with the comics, actors, anchors and reality stars who have taken a crack at syndicated talk shows only to be yanked off the air because of low ratings. And when “Ellen” premiered, she also had to overcome the hesitancy of affiliate managers who thought an openly gay person could not connect with the women who make up most of the daytime audience. Her quick wit and approachable manner earned her millions of fans and ultimately a plum late-afternoon slot in most markets. As recently as a few years ago, the show was drawing roughly three million viewers an episode.

As Ms. DeGeneres fights through a loss in popularity, she has turned to celebrity friends to help her make the case that there is not much difference between the on-camera Ellen and the real Ellen. When Michelle Obama was a virtual guest last week, she spoke warmly about the time she went to Ms. DeGeneres’s house and they played a piano duet together. A video clip of the pair at the piano was shown.

Another recent guest, Jennifer Garner, also appearing remotely, raced to her hotel room balcony at the host’s request to tell passers-by how much she adored Ms. DeGeneres. “I love her!” Ms. Garner shouted. “She’s kind! She’s a humanitarian! She loves animals!”

 

Correction: March 22, 2021

An earlier version of this article misstated the average number of viewers for "Dr. Phil," according to Nielsen. It is 2.5 million, not 3.1 million.

[RockHardNYC]

13 hours ago, PeterRS said:

The New York Times has a firewall and those who do not pay can not read articles.

I've always been a paid subscriber to The New York Times, 40+ years and counting, but I thought everyone had free access to 20 digital articles a month. Perhaps that has changed?

Since "copyright" ostensibly caused the demise of the Porn Forum and that fabulous moniker, "BoyToy," RH will not be posting copyrighted material to this board again until Oz says the action is permitted. I do apologize for the inconvenience, and I'm sorry I can't keep track of everyone's "rules" parameters. Too many people don't understand the meaning of "Fair Use," and I am not the lawyer or CFO of this board.

[caeron]

 

I have some sympathy for Ellen. She is running a business and I think some of her employees seem to think that kindness meant they got a free ride. That said, I imagine Rockhard is right that Ellen took her eye off the ball and shit happened.  I'd be bored doing that same talk show for years too.

[PeterRS]

Thank for printing the article @Lonnie 

@RockHardNYCthe number of free articles is down to about 5 I believe, and this includes reading of back articles posted on the internet.

[RockHardNYC]

7 hours ago, caeron said:

I think some of her employees seem to think that kindness meant they got a free ride.

That wouldn't surprise me. However, Ellen's smile, Ellen's humor, Ellen's love; that is her brand. If they fuck with that, they fuck her.

When someone's hobby is buying and selling luxury homes, maybe 20+, and you know they're control freaks, the everyday punch and grind is simply not as exciting anymore. After all, a routine TV show in Hollywood may pay really well, but in the end it's just a routine.

1 hour ago, PeterRS said:

free articles is down to about 5 

Sorry to hear that. Their subscription model is one of the most successful. But still. They don't need to be so greedy. 

[BiBottomBoy]

People liked Ellen because she seemed nice.

Now that they know she isn't nice of course they stopped watching her

[RockHardNYC]

If you are uber wealthy, which Ellen is, being "nice" can kill you, especially 24/7 nice. Way too many people on earth to take advantage of that.

[BiBottomBoy]

But she was nasty on set to people working for her.

[caeron]

 

I generally found those whining about her nastiness on set unpersuasive. You may feel differently. It seemed mostly people like people with an axe to grind.

[BiBottomBoy]

how many other hosts have you heard people griping about?

[Taikonaut]

Another para social relationship revealing its ugly side. 

[RockHardNYC]

I say fuck the snowflakes! Too many people in the work force are a pain in the ass. They're lazy, incompetent, and selfishly over-sensitive. And many feel entitled. In show business, you have unions that protect people who deserve to be replaced. Firing people is not as easy as you think.

I'm not suggesting Ellen is a perfect human being. No boss is perfect. And she's now paying the price for not being perfect. But, when you're running a multi-million corporation, and you're the star of the show, believe me, the pressure is no laughing matter.

Egos run LARGE in show business. However, no matter who the boss is, you will always find disgruntled workers, people eager to complain about something. Thanks to social media, snowflakes are attempting to gain power. Mediocre workers do not deserve special treatment.

That said, just because you're "Ellen," it does not give you the right to behave nastily. If Ellen were a true CUNT, far more people would be speaking out, and there would be large turnover of senior executives over a short span of time. For a true "cunt" meter, one has to look at the inner circle. 

 

[BiBottomBoy]

Jesus H. Christ we have a republican here.

Fuck my life.

[caeron]

 

I seriously doubt, in line with Rockhard's estimation, that Ellen was any worse to work for than anybody else. I worked as a corporate lead on communications at various companies. This is a typical media-manufactured story. Somebody complains. Somebody offers rewards for stories about Ellen on twitter. Needless to say, stories are created, and a woman who isn't nice enough to suit people is trashed. The media get their eyeballs, people 'twitter' about the woman who has  been shown her place.

You call it being a republican, I call it not buying bullshit sexism.  This story would very likely not happen if Ellen was a guy.

[RockHardNYC]

3 hours ago, caeron said:

This story would very likely not happen if Ellen was a guy.

That is so true. Men are totally allowed to be fighters and DEMAND perfection. Women have to be "nice." It's so fucking SEXIST and not human.

Not sure anyone has ever called me a "Republican" before. LOL.

[BiBottomBoy]

maybe men should have to be nice?

[RockHardNYC]

22 minutes ago, BiBottomBoy said:

maybe men should have to be nice?

Then they're called pussies.

[caeron]

 

Nowadays, nice for men in business has upgraded all the way to "doesn't regularly rape his interns". 

Nice for women still involves them erasing themselves to please others.

Look how hard the British Media tried to erase Meghan Markle for actually existing as a person rather than some cardboard cut-out white person attached to a prince's arm.

It happens all the time in media. Women are torn down because they aren't 'nice' enough. Men get a free pass unless they do something really, really heinous.

 

[RockHardNYC]

1 hour ago, caeron said:

Nowadays, nice for men in business has upgraded all the way to "doesn't regularly rape his interns". 

Nice for women still involves them erasing themselves to please others.

Look how hard the British Media tried to erase Meghan Markle for actually existing as a person rather than some cardboard cut-out white person attached to a prince's arm.

It happens all the time in media. Women are torn down because they aren't 'nice' enough. Men get a free pass unless they do something really, really heinous.

 

Couldn't have said it better.

[PeterRS]

I have never understood the American love affair with daytime chat shows involving a celebrity host and a panoply of guests most of whom are promoting movies or books or something else. Perhaps living in Asia there are local language programmes of a similar nature. Thankfully I just do not know.

What  irritates me about these shows is they are so incredibly boringly predictable. An audience that seems made up of near brainless trained monkeys. Don't those watching realise that a studio manager spends a lot of time rehearsing these women before taping to get them into 'character' by teaching them to scream and jump up and down at even the most inane comments? When a free CD or book is given to all there seems to be a collective orgasm that is so fake. The games that are sometimes played are virtually senseless and the shows where lots of freebies are given out just one long commercial for the companies which donate the prizes.

So, yes, I have seen her show but very rarely - maybe about ten of them over the years whenever i am in the US or a country where it is syndicated. I suppose everything is loosely based on Oprah's show which I did watch more often as it was screened in Thailand. But at least she sometimes had serious, meaningful conversations. Ellen seems to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Just my take!

[caeron]

I think I watched her for a month or two once. I found the pop culture stuff kind of interesting and educational to me, since I don't really follow it (or care).

But, it got old very quickly. Every other one I've seen is much worse to me.

I rarely like hosted shows like these, daytime, late night, whatever. Like you, I'm not really interested in whatever new 'project' the celebs are appearing to shill for.

 

[BiBottomBoy]

Peter same with me. The last time I saw was  15 years ago the last time I was in America. I found it super boring. But I guess housewives have to do something during the day

[PeterRS]

8 hours ago, caeron said:

I rarely like hosted shows like these, daytime, late night, whatever. Like you, I'm not really interested in whatever new 'project' the celebs are appearing to shill for.

I'm also with you on the late night shows. I am constantly amazed that all have virtually identical formats - a host whose main job is a boring monologue and to crack jokes, an in house band, an audience of sycophants and a bunch of celebs promoting something, usually themselves. We do get some of these in Thailand and occasionally one will be partly interesting. I sometimes compare this frivolous candy floss with one of the terrestrial channels in Britain showing Queer as Folk in the same time slot two decades ago.