Warner Bros.’ The Ellen DeGeneres Show is returning to the 4 p.m. slot on NBC Universal’s WNBC, starting Feb. 18, confirmed WNBC spokeswoman Susan Kiel. Ellen will replace Program Partners’ Crosswords and a repeat of NBC Universal’s Access Hollywood, which will take Ellen’s 11 a.m. slot.
“Ellen is a strong show and a better lead-in to our 5 p.m. news,” said
Kiel
.
WNBC previously aired Ellen in the 4 p.m. time slot, where it struggled against syndication heavyweights CBS’ The Oprah Winfrey Show on WABC and CBS’ Judge Judy on WCBS.
Kiel
said the move was just a “temporary fix,” and another, unnamed show will take over for Ellen in early fringe come fall. The programming swap was first reported by the New York Post.
