Rachael Ray Is Still Cooking, But Have People Stopped Caring?
News is that Rachael Ray may have spread herself too thin, and as a result her ratings for her daytime show are slipping:
An impeccable TV source told Page Six, "They are seriously talking about taking her off the air."The problem is Ray's ratings. When she debuted two years ago, she had a meager 2.5 rating, which her syndicator, King World, nonetheless trumpeted as "The biggest syndicated debut since 'Dr. Phil.' " In fact, one insider said, "They had hoped for more. 'Dr. Phil' beats 'Oprah' and gets like a 5.0 rating - and Rachael's set is very expensive and elaborate; his is just chairs." [...]
In 2007, Ray's syndicated show averaged a 2.2 Nielsen rating and has already dipped to 2.0 this year. An insider said, "Anything below a 2.0 is asking for trouble."
Another bad indicator is that in 2007, the average age of a daytime "Rachael Ray" viewer was 53.4, with only 776,000 women between ages 18 and 49 (the show's target demo) tuning in. In 2008, both numbers have taken a turn for the worse. The average-age viewer today is 55.1, with only 688,000 women between ages 18 and 49 tuning in.
Okay, wait. Rachael Ray has a daytime television show? Since when?
No, I'm serious. I didn't know that she had a show. According to her official site:
Rachael Ray is an Emmy Award-winning, daily one-hour syndicated talk show and is among the top-ranked daytime programs on television. Now in her second season, Rachael continues to bring her warmth and no-fuss attitude into the homes of millions of viewers with her signature quick meals, celebrity surprises, provocative discussions, hot musical performances and groundbreaking features.
Well, wait a second. According to Wikipedia and IMDb, her daytime television show hasn't won an Emmy, although Rachael has been nominated. It is actually her show "30 Minute Meals" which won an Emmy. Note that it doesn't say that Rachael Ray, the person (non-italics) won an Emmy, but that Rachael Ray, the show (italicized) won an Emmy, indicating that the show won. Which, apparently, it didn't. Continued on the next page
