Editing The Oprah Winfrey Show (section)

===Television viewership and ratings===
[[Image:Harpo Studios Oprah Marquee.jpg|thumb|right|Marquee for the show, above entrance at [[Harpo Studios]] in [[Near West Side, Chicago]].  The first ''Oprah'' show was taped there on January 15, 1990.<ref>''O, The Oprah Magazine'', May 2015, p. 190.</ref>]]
It has been reported that the show averages an estimated 7,<ref name=ratings3>{{Cite news|url = http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/19/oprah-winfrey-to-end-her-talk-show/|title = Oprah Winfrey to End Her Talk Show|work =The New York Times|date = November 19, 2009 | first1=Brian | last1=Stelter | first2=Bill | last2=Carter | access-date=May 25, 2010}}</ref><ref name=ratings6>{{Cite news|url = http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article4021213.ece|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110616114936/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article4021213.ece|url-status = dead|archive-date = June 16, 2011|title = Oprah Winfrey: the TV queen's crown slips|publisher = Times Newspapers Ltd|date = May 29, 2008 | location=London | first=Penny | last=Wark | access-date=May 25, 2010}}</ref> 14,<ref name=ratings1>{{cite web|url = http://www.yachtingnet.com/time/time100/artists/profile/winfrey.html|title = TIME 100: Oprah Winfrey|publisher = Time Inc.|date = June 8, 1998}}</ref> and 15–20<ref name=ratings2>{{cite web|url = http://www.nytix.com/TVShows/Archive/OprahWinfrey/oprahwinfrey.html|title = Oprah Winfrey – The Many Faces of Oprah|publisher = New York TV Show Tickets Inc.|access-date = January 29, 2010|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100831022714/http://www.nytix.com/TVShows/Archive/OprahWinfrey/oprahwinfrey.html|archive-date = August 31, 2010|url-status = dead}}</ref> million viewers a day in the United States. It has also been reported at 26 million<ref name=ratings8>{{cite web|url = http://www.auditionagency.com/tv/oprah_winfrey.htm|title = TV Show Reviews |date = November 28, 2020 |publisher = AuditionAgency.com}}</ref> and 42 million<ref name=ratings4>{{cite web|url = http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/11/oprah_winfrey_show_to_end_in_2.html|title = 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' to end in 2011|publisher = New Jersey On-Line LLC|date = November 20, 2009}}</ref><ref name=ratings5>{{cite web|url = http://www.today.com/id/34050109|title = Oprah decides to end show 'after much prayer'|publisher = Today.com|date = November 20, 2009|access-date = November 22, 2019|archive-date = August 5, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200805174025/http://www.today.com/id/34050109|url-status = dead}}</ref> a week (5.2 and 8.4 million a day). Viewership for the show has been reported to have dropped over the years, averaging 12.6 million in 1991–2,<ref name=ratings7>{{cite web|url = http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2009/1122/p02s01-usgn.html|title = Oprah Winfrey queen of a declining empire – daytime TV|work= The Christian Science Monitor|date = November 22, 2009}}</ref> 9 million in 2004,<ref name=ratings6/> 9 million in 2005,<ref name=autogenerated2>{{Cite news|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2037083/Oprah-Winfrey-Show-suffers-ratings-slump.html|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080529074820/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2037083/Oprah-Winfrey-Show-suffers-ratings-slump.html|url-status = dead|archive-date = May 29, 2008|title = Oprah Winfrey Show suffers ratings slump|work=The Daily Telegraph |date = May 27, 2008 | location=London | first=Lucy | last=Cockcroft | access-date=May 25, 2010}}</ref> 7.8 in 2006,<ref name=ratings8/> 7.3 million in 2008,<ref name=ratings8/> and 6.2 million in 2009.<ref name=ratings7/>

The show was number one in the talk show ratings since its debut. The show spent many years as the highest-rated program in daytime television. Even with stiff competition, ''Oprah'' still maintained a consistent lead over other talk shows.<ref name=number1>{{cite web|url = http://www.chattershmatter.com/2008/05/27/media-queen-oprah-winfrey-losing-ratings-battle/|title = Media Queen Oprah Winfrey Losing Ratings Battle|date = May 27, 2008}}</ref>