By Joe Flint 

When ABC launched "The View" in 1997, Barbara Walters and other women chatting about the news and gossip of the day was a quaint alternative to the soap operas and chair-throwing talk shows that made up much of daytime television.

Lately though, there's been enough drama and fireworks both in front of and behind the cameras at "The View" to make Jerry Springer seem sedate and "General Hospital" feel realistic. The revolving door of hosts and producers over the past few seasons has led to what people close to the show describe as a "toxic environment" on the set, and viewers have grown impatient and fled.

Last season--the first since co-creator and host Ms. Walters retired--the one-hour talk show averaged 2.7 million viewers in its 11 a.m. time slot. That was a decline of about 30% from the 2008-09 season when "The View" was at its peak and averaged 3.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Among women age 25-54, a coveted demographic among marketers, the losses have been closer to 40%.

Advertisers, in turn, have headed for the exits. In 2014, "The View" took in $87.8 million in commercial revenue, down 26% from 2013 when it had $118.6 million, according to Kantar Media, which tracks ad spending.

The new season of "The View" is less than a week away, and for the second season in a row, none of the cast that started the prior season is returning, except for Whoopi Goldberg. The hiring of actress Rosie Perez and the return of Rosie O'Donnell last season backfired as the former never seemed comfortable with the environment on the show and the latter again had personality conflicts with her on-air and off-air colleagues. A spokeswoman for Ms. O'Donnell cited personal reasons for her departure.

In a statement, ABC News said it "learned a lot last year" and that it starts this season "with a great team in place."

In the hopes of restoring goodwill with its audience, this season "The View" is bringing back popular original panelist Joy Behar, who left in 2013. Sherri Shepherd, who spent six years on the show, will also pop up as an occasional contributor.

Other co-hosts for this season include Candace Cameron Bure, who played D.J. Tanner on "Full House"; comedian Michelle Collins; ABC News journalist Paula Faris; and Raven-Symoné, who joined the talk show late last season and is best known for the Disney Channel show "That's So Raven" and NBC's "The Cosby Show."

Another potential headache is the fate of Ms. Goldberg, who is entering the final season of her contract, people familiar with the matter said. A representative for Ms. Goldberg didn't respond to requests for comment.

The network also needs someone to run the show. On Monday, ABC said Bill Wolff was leaving as executive producer of "The View" after just one season. Candi Carter, a former producer on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," has been brought in as a consulting producer while the network looks for a full-time showrunner.

Created by Ms. Walters and former longtime executive producer Bill Geddie, "The View" managed to strike a balance between serious debate show and celebrity fluff. The strong opinions of the panelists over the years including Ms. Goldberg, Ms. O'Donnell, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Jenny McCarthy often led to sparks on camera and made "The View" part of the cultural zeitgeist and a must-visit for presidential candidates.

"The View" has spawned several all-female copycat shows including CBS's "The Talk" and the Warner Bros. syndicated show "The Real." NBC is also planning a "View"-like makeover for its talk show hosted by Meredith Vieira, a founding co-host of "The View."

Despite its relatively small audience, "The View" is considered a signature show for Walt Disney Co.'s ABC. Although its profit has declined sharply, according to network insiders, no executive wants to be the one who pulls the plug on Ms. Walters's creation. Ben Sherwood, who took over as president of the Disney/ABC TV Group earlier this year, is keeping close tabs on the overhaul and is pushing for the show to regain its cultural and political significance.

Another reason ABC may be reluctant to cancel "The View" is that there is no guarantee that something new would do any better. The daytime TV landscape has been littered with high-profile talk show disappointments in recent years, including efforts from Katie Couric, Anderson Cooper and Queen Latifah.

Indeed, some of the female audience has migrated to cable during the day. Investigation Discovery, a cable network owned by Discovery Communications Inc. that focuses on the true-crime genre, has grown its daytime audience among women age 25-54 in the past five years.

The question now will be whether the shuffling of hosts on "The View" will lure back viewers and advertisers.

"'Who are they?' is the response I most readily get when I mention them, " Billie Gold, a vice president and director of programming at Dentsu Inc., an advertising and media-buying firm, said of the show's new additions.

The return of Ms. Behar should help, Ms. Gold said, but not enough to return "The View" to its glory days.

Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com

 

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 01, 2015 18:38 ET (22:38 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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