Ellen DeGeneres Show loses more than one million viewers following ‘toxic’ workplace scandal

Talk show is down 38 per cent with its core demographic of women under the age of 54

The Ellen DeGeneres Show has lost over a million viewers following allegations of a toxic workplace on the show.

Claims of bullying and misconduct behind the scenes of the popular daytime talk series led to three senior producers leaving the series over the summer.

Series 18 of Ellen debuted on 21 September 2020, with DeGeneres apologising to fans as she addressed the controversy for the first time. The episode drew the highest ratings for a premiere in four years.

However, The Ellen DeGeneres Show’s viewership has dropped significantly since then, according to Nielsen ratings.

As reported by The New York Times, the daytime talk show has averaged 1.5 million viewers over the last six months, down from 2.6 million for the same period last year.

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The show is also down 38 per cent with its core demographic (women under the age of 54) and has reportedly lost roughly 20 per cent in advertising revenue.

This puts Ellen significantly behind the likes of Live: With Kelly and Ryan and Dr Phil, which draw in an average of 2.7m and 2.5m viewers respectively. Its viewership is now in the same range as talk shows from presenters such as Maury Povich, Kelly Clarkson and Tamron Hall.

DeGeneres’s game show Ellen’s Game of Games has also been affected, with viewing figures down 32 per cent this season.

(NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

However, Ellen still picked up the award for Daytime Talk Show of 2020 at the People’s Choice Awards in November, in a category voted for by fans.

In a statement shared with the NYT, Telepictures executive vice president David McGuire said that the decline was due to the coronavirus pandemic, but added that Ellen “remains one of the top three highest-rated syndicated talk shows this season”.

“While broadcast is down across the board and Covid has been challenging for production, we are looking forward to bringing back our live audiences and a 19th season filled with all of the hilarious and heartwarming moments that have made Ellen one of the longest running and most successful talk shows in history,” he said.