As the Rosie O'Donnell/Donald Trump/Barbara Walters imbroglio continued to heat up last week, so did the show's ratings. Without Rosie even being on the show - she returned from vacation Jan. 8 - the show averaged 3.5 million total viewers for the week ending Jan. 7, up 18% over last year and 13% season to date, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The show was also up 7% year over year in women 18-49, with an average 1 million women in the demo last week. Those numbers account for only three days, since the Jan. 1 show was pre-empted by the Tournament of Roses parade and the Jan. 2 show for coverage of President Ford's funeral.
O'Donnell's addition to the show has brought it its best ever ratings in this, its tenth season. During fourth quarter, the show averaged 3.36 million total viewers, up from the 2.79 million it had averaged over the summer.
