Is NBC Replacing Meredith Vieira With A Panel Talk Show?
New reports claim that NBC is searching for a potential replacement to fill the talk show slot currently taken by Meredith Vieira.
With numerous successful competitors beating Meredith Vieira in the ratings race, NBC is reportedly considering a completely different approach.
Page Six reports that the network is thinking about developing a panel-type talk show, like The View and The Real, in order to appeal to a wider audience and become more competitive against other networks and syndicated talk shows.
NBC is looking at a “The View”-style talk show to possibly replace “The Meredith Vieira Show” http://t.co/HE9z6xfxC2 pic.twitter.com/RROSENCZeP
— Page Six (@PageSix) March 8, 2015
According to the report, The Meredith Vieira Show currently averages 1.5 million viewers on a daily basis. That may seem like a lot of viewers — especially for a daytime talk show.
However, it is actually much lower than many of her similar talk show competitors — including Steve Harvey, Dr. Phil and Wendy Williams.
Since it has been quite some time since NBC aired a panel-style talk show, the rumored reports of the network trying to find an effective way to jump back in that particular game are not surprising. It is the goal of the network, according to Page Six, to replicate the success of such shows as The Real and The Talk.
“NBC is looking to launch a ‘panel-type show’ akin to ‘The View’ or ‘The Talk’ and is auditioning ‘a slew of people for it.’ The goal is to have the show ready by next year’s upfront presentations.”
If the reports of NBC replacing The Meredith Vieira Show are true, it is not like the network executives did not try their best to boost the relatively low ratings.
NBC insiders claim that the network is still trying to figure something out that will turn things around and make the show successful with viewers.
“With any show, you tinker with different things to see what works.”
It is also important to keep in mind that Meredith Vieira was the first moderator of The View and remained with the hit talk show from 1997 to 2006. Therefore, even if her current show is replaced with a panel-type talk show at some point in the future, NBC executives will likely consider keeping Meredith on-board for her overall experience with that type of setup.
[Image Credit: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images]
