The Ellen DeGeneres Show has been renewed by the NBC Owned Television Stations in a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution through summer 2020 (the 2019-20 television season).
The series, from Telepictures Productions, will continue to air on 10 of the NBC-owned stations, including WNBC in New York, KNBC in Los Angeles and WMAQ in Chicago.
DeGeneres’ show has remained a consistent ratings performer amid a daypart that has become increasingly inhospitable to celebrity fronted talkers. NBCUni confirmed today that Meredith Vieira’s ill-fated talker, which airs at 2 p.m. on NBC stations, will end after its current second season. In recent years, programs hosted by Katie Couric, Anderson Cooper and Queen Latifah, also have been canceled after two seasons. Ellen will move from 4 p.m. to 3 p.m. on four NBC-owned stations (in New York, Los Angeles, Connecticut and South Florida) as the local stations launch 4 p.m. newscasts in May and Ellen and Steve Harvey each slide back an hour.
Ellen is the top-rated show in the talk genre, growing 7 percent year-over-year among the daytime target demographic of women 25-54, with a 1.6 rating. Across the NBC stations, Ellen was up 8 percent in the female demo compared to November 2014.
“For more than a decade, Ellen has anchored the daytime lineups of the NBC-owned stations, offering our viewers a great afternoon show, delivering a strong lead in for our early evening newscasts and helping to launch new hits,” Valari Staab, president of NBCUni’s owned stations, said in a statement. “We’re proud of our partnership with Ellen, her fabulous team and our friends at Warner Bros., and we are thrilled to extend our relationship with them.”
Added Ken Werner, president, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution: “There’s a very simple explanation as to why Ellen is number one. Day in and day out Ellen delivers the best show on television. Ellen and her team produce a completely unique and exciting hour, which is appointment television for viewers everywhere.”
It’s far cheaper for local stations to mount their own newscasts than pay high premiums for daytime shows. And after Vieira’s show concludes in May, NBC-owned stations in New York (WNBC), Los Angeles (KNBC), South Florida (WTVJ) and Connecticut (WVIT), will launch 4 p.m. newscasts, shifting current 4 p.m. occupant DeGeneres to 3 p.m. and sliding Steve Harvey to 2 p.m., where Vieira’s show currently airs.
