Star Jones controversy gives "The View" big ratings boost

Maybe Star Jones should stay on board "The View" after all or just have Barbara Walters duke it out with another co-host every few weeks.  It's been over 2 1/2 years since the show has appeared in daytime television's top 5 until a much publicized dismissal of long time co-host Star Jones Reynolds occurred a few weeks back.

Broadcast & Cable reports that 'The View' tied for fourth place in daytime for the week of July 3 with a 1.5 rating/10 share.   That's an average audience of 980,000 women 18-49, up 8% from the week before and up a tenth of a rating point from its season average of a 1.4/10 (880,000) in the demo.

Star Jones, appearing on "Larry King Live" in her first on air interview since announcing her departure from ABC's "The View" said she was told she could "make up a story" about why she was leaving "The View" and her colleagues would have gone along with it.

The truth - that Jones' ABC bosses didn't want her back because her personal popularity was plummeting - might never have been known without the fight.

"They said you can make up a story," Reynolds said. "The audience didn't deserve for me to make up a story. That's not fair."

Longtime ABC newswoman Walters has confirmed the intended deception, but said it was done to protect Reynolds' reputation and feelings.

Star Jones announcement that she would be leaving "The View" resulted in a much publicized squabble between her and Walters.

Meanwhile, Bodog.com (See Web Site Here), continues to take action on where Star Jones will land next.

Odds on whether Star Jones will be offered her own talk show by August 31, 2006 were listed at +150 that she would be (or $1.50 paid out for every $1.00 bet).  Odds that she will not be offered her own talk show sat at -200. 

Bodog.com also offered odds on which television network would offer Jones her own talk show with Fox the 3 to 1 favorite. 

But Fox might not be the best value after someone from the network caught wind of a Touch magazine report saying that Fox was ready to offer Star Jones a job.

"This is what happens when a low-rent publication like In Touch tries to break news," scoffed a Fox News flack to the New York Post. "It's no wonder their magazine is an industry joke."

As for The View, it goes on hiatus during the month of August, with Rosie O'Donnell coming aboard September 5 to replace Meredith Vieira.

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Sparky Collins, www.gambling911.com

Originally published July 16, 2006 3:18 pm EDT