‘The View’ Ratings Hit ‘Upswing’ After Election: Viewers Love ‘Ranting About the Political Climate’

The View had been struggling for a good portion of 2024, but ratings are surging post-election as staff breathe a huge collective sigh of relief and plot as many shock talking points as possible moving forward in order to keep the numbers up, a source exclusively tells Closer.

“The View was in genuine trouble at the beginning of the season, but the tide has turned in the weeks after the election,” says an ABC insider of the rollercoaster ride the show has been on in the last twelve months. “It really helps that, with the election settled, ABC internally is finally acknowledging what has been apparent for the entire fall: the ladies of The View get the most attention when they are ranting about the political climate.”

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Moreover, the source notes that the catty in-fighting that defines a lot of the drama on the show is another huge draw, saying “If they’re at each other’s throats while doing it? Even better!” 

“As painful as the clips from the show can be to watch, they go viral for a reason and this particular panel isn’t going anywhere as long as the numbers are on the upswing.” 

The show averaged 3.078 million viewers during the week of November 4, ranking first among daytime broadcast network talk and news shows. They saw a huge spike the day after the election, too, with 4.470 million viewers as hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, Joy Behar and Alyssa Farah Griffin discussed and reacted to Donald Trump’s second victory – the highest rated episode since Barbara Walters’ farewell on May 16, 2014. Year-on-year, viewership of the show is now up 24 percent.

The cause of the swing back in viewers isn’t lost on execs at the network, either. They understand where their bread is buttered and are eager to continue the ratings pump by having their panel of cohosts diver even deeper into political commentary. 

“ABC spent millions relocating the show to a new studio this year but it’s the current political climate, and the ladies’ reactions to it, that is driving interest in this franchise and, ultimately, keeping it on the air,” the source says. 

“The plan going forward is to keep things spicy, and, across the board, lean into the controversial topics.” 

While the turn-around in declining viewership numbers is a blessing to the cast and crew, they’re not totally out of the woods yet, as many are still hating on the ladies around the table and banking on the show to fail eventually. 

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The insider acknowledges that, while the hosts can get a little out of hand sometimes, this is actually a good thing in terms of their ratings and watch-ability. “The danger is when the ladies start to second guess themselves or censor themselves to appear more likable or pleasant.: 

To showrunners and network execs the message is clear: “The audience has spoken and they by far prefer the shock value of the arguments over pleasant daytime chit-chat.”