With the news that Oprah Winfrey may take her daily talk show away from broadcast affiliates and to her own OWN cable network, that got us wondering: should Glenn Beck, now the #2 show on cable despite airing in he afternoons, be Oprah’s syndicated replacement?
Beck is well-rounded. Between his #1 best-selling books and comedy shows he’s a three-dimensional talent that could easily adapt to daytimes. He could also use his radio audience to promote to local affiliates.
Just yesterday, the New York Times reported novelists are considering Beck to be the “New Oprah,” when it comes to endorsing political thrillers. “He’s our Oprah,” author Brad Thor told The Times’ Motoko Rich. “God love him, we’re very fortunate.”
Oprah Winfrey averages about 6.8 million viewers a day airing at various times across the country (9am in Chicago, 3pm in Los Angeles, 4pm in New York.) In October, Beck’s live and same-day DVR average was 2.7M daily viewers, and that’s on cable.
Heck, even CBS’ Les Moonves has Beck to thank for a good quarterly report.
Beck is locked in to a multi-year deal with Fox News which would probably keep him from jumping anytime soon. His show premiered in January, and quickly shot past all competitors and even programs on his own channel, which air later in the evening to larger available audiences.
So, what do you think?