For the first time in its four-year history, CBS Daytime chatfest “The Talk” is more popular in key demos than the show that inspired it, ABC’s “The View.”
According to Nielsen estimates for July 8-13, “The Talk” averaged 484,000 women 18-49 (rising 38% week to week) while “The View” attracted 454,000. The CBS show also prevailed in adults 25-54 (667,000 to 606,000), surging 60% from the previous week.
The older-skewing “The View” continues to draw more total viewers than “The Talk,” though the gap was tighter last week (2.82 million to 2.66 million).
The demo victories by “The Talk,” now in its fourth season, come amid changes at “The View,” which is in its 17th season. Following Barbara Walters’ retirement, Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy have exited, and Rosie O’Donnell has been tapped to return to the show as a panelist alongside current moderator Whoopi Goldberg.
The Julie Chen-moderated “The Talk” tends to be more competitive during the summer, when she also serves as host of thrice-weekly CBS primetime series “Big Brother.” Last year at this time, “The Talk” set series highs during three consecutive weeks and earned a demo tie with “The View” for the first time.
