Kelly Clarkson will take over the time periods of Warner Bros.' The Ellen DeGeneres Show on NBCUniversal owned TV stations after that show ends at the end of next season.
In success, this has always been the plan for Kelly Clarkson and NBCUniversal executives have been saying behind the scenes for months that they were preparing for just this moment.
Kelly Clarkson on Tuesday was the recipient of six Daytime Emmy nominations, including nods for outstanding entertainment talk show and outstanding entertainment talk-show host. In the show’s rookie season, it won three Daytime Emmy Awards, including outstanding entertainment talk-show host for Clarkson.
“These are remarkable achievements for a talk show in its second season,” said Valari Staab, president, NBCUniversal Local, in a statement. “We look forward to Ellen DeGeneres’ 19th season paired with Kelly Clarkson for what is sure to be a blockbuster year. By 2022, The Kelly Clarkson Show will be the star of our daytime entertainment schedules and an asset to our early afternoon newscasts.”
Also Read: NBCU's 'Kelly Clarkson' Renewed for Two More Seasons
Currently, The Kelly Clarkson Show airs on NBCUniversal’s owned stations in 12 markets, including the top three of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. In those markets, Kelly Clarkson tends to kick off an afternoon block, followed by Ellen DeGeneres, followed by a local newscast.
For example, on WNBC New York, Kelly Clarkson airs at noon, followed by Ellen DeGeneres at 1 p.m. with local news starting at 2 p.m. On KNBC Los Angeles, Kelly Clarkson airs at 2 p.m., followed by Ellen DeGeneres at 3 p.m. and local news starting at 4 p.m. In recent years, the NBC owned stations have increased their local news offerings and decreased their reliance on syndicated fare, particularly in the late afternoon.
Last fall, NBCUniversal announced that the show had been renewed through the 2022-23 TV season.
Earlier this month, Ellen DeGeneres confirmed that her daytime talk show would end after next season. DeGeneres signed a new three-year deal in 2019 and she is not renewing that contract.
Also Read: Ellen DeGeneres Apologizes to Staff in Letter
The Ellen DeGeneres Show has had a tough year. Besides the pandemic, it also was the subject of many stories over the summer, led by BuzzFeed, that quoted on background current and former staffers of the show that said its work atmosphere was toxic. This season, the show’s ratings are down some 40% compared to last year and where it used to run a close second or third with CBS Media Ventures’ Dr. Phil and Disney’s Live with Kelly and Ryan, it is now averaging 1.0 live plus same day season-to-date household rating, putting it more on par with shows such as NBCU’s Maury and Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams.
