Jeff Probst

The show will return for its 29th and 30th cycles during the 2014-15 season with Jeff Probst returning as host.

CBS Television Distribution’s freshman syndicated talk show Jeff Probst handed out pink slips to several staffers, including producers, on Thursday. “As with most new shows, we had beefed up our production team for launch, and are now settling into a more appropriate staffing level for a daily talk show,” a show spokesperson said.

With freshman talker Jeff Probst faltering and the NBC Owned Television Stations looking at options, at least two of the major syndicators would like to supply a replacement. Sony Pictures Television is pitching Queen Latifah and NBC Universal is said to be developing a show tailor-made for the group’s daytime schedule. “Just a few weeks ago, NBC stations had an entire afternoon of problems,” says one syndication executive. “Now, in just a few weeks, after having a daytime problem for years, they have [only] one problem,” he says referring to Probst.

The freshman talk show scored a new series high 1.1 rating/3 share average on Monday for its primary runs.

Less than a month into the new season, Couric’s middling ratings and topics have affiliates grumbling, Lake has a new executive producer, and a CBS exec’s ouster is partly due to Probst’s disappointing start.

Newly minted talk show hosts Steve Harvey, Katie Couric, Jeff Probst and Ricki Lake have now had a month (give or take) to prove themselves in the daytime arena. So how have they fared?

In an effort to inspire viewers of the eponymous talk show that debuts next Monday, Jeff Probst is drawing some of his inspiration from Phil Donahue, the legendary talk show host who discovered that the studio audience can be an important contributor to a show. In his visit to the set during tapings in Los Angeles last month, TVNewsCheck’s Kevin Downey found that the set itself facilitates and encourages audience interaction.

The station group’s leader, Valari Staab, is betting two new syndicated shows — Steve Harvey from NBCUniversal and Jeff Probst from CBS Television Distribution — will flow nicely with current shows and help turn around the fortunes of her 10 stations.

Syndication buyers and sellers are projecting ratings and costs for the new syndicated talk shows prior to this summer’s upfront ad market. They say Disney-ABC’s Katie is likely to command a CPM of $25-$28 in its core demographic, women 25-54. Jeff Probst, with the host of Survivor, is expected to be next at about $25, followed by Steve Harvey and Ricki Lake’s new venture at $18-$20.

Oprah is long gone — she taped her last show for broadcast syndication eight months ago — but her presence (or absence) is still being felt throughout broadcasting and will pervade the NATPE conference next week in Miami Beach. She’ll continue to be the measure by which every other talk show evaluates itself and the subject of countless conversations about her impact on broadcasting.

As host of one of a batch of syndicated talk shows getting set to debut this fall, the longtime Survivor host says there’s room for all of them. “The reason is that a talk show lives or dies with its host. Everyone brings their own strengths. I don’t see it as a threat.” And he says his experiences on Survivor will serve him well: “Dealing with people from all walks of life, who are in extreme conflicts, for almost 13 years … will play into the talk show. That’s where I’ve had the opportunity to hone the craft of interviewing.”

The former Oprah producer will be in charge of CBS Television Distribution’s new syndicated first-run talk show set to debut this fall.

The new CBS Television Distribution talk show has been cleared in 24 of the top 25 markets for a fall 2012 debut.

The new Syndicated Strip has been cleared in 22 of the top 25 markets by CBS Television Distribution for its fall 2012 launch.

Syndicators and stations got some answers to the many questions hanging over them for next season lineups. CBS Television Distribution’s Jeff Probst (left) was picked up by the NBC Owned Television Stations. Twentieth Television’s Ricki with Ricki Lake was grabbed by Tribune Broadcasting in New York and seven other markets while Warner Bros.’s Anderson with Anderson Cooper secured key second-season renewals. Still looking for a home is Warner Bros.’s Bethenny Frankel.

Eight of the 10 NBC Owned Television Stations will carry the new daytime talk show in fall 2012, including WNBC New York, KNBC Los Angeles and WCAU Philadelphia. Also clearing the talker are stations in 16 of the top 20 markets.

The Peacock stations may pick up one more hour of daytime in 2012, and the contest pits existing (but ailing) shows against risky new upstarts.

CBS Television Distribution signs Emmy-winning Survivor host Jeff Probst to create a first-run syndicated talk show for fall 2012.