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ABC Hears ‘Ka-Ching’ Following Whoopi Announcement

Advertisers were lining up to buy time in Whoopi Goldberg’s debut appearance as moderator on The View almost before the ink was dry on the star’s multi-year contract.

Goldberg has appeared 24 times on the show as a guest, and has proven that she is both audience-friendly and advertiser-friendly, writes TV Week.

Total viewers were up 19 percent this season, a season during which Rosie O’Donnell, as moderator, commonly feuded with guests and co-hosts. The summer’s ratings, now that O’Donnell has left the show, have remained steady.

Thirty-second spots during the show have been selling for $10,000 to $11,500, according to one buyer. The same ratings under the Goldberg banner may bring in higher costs per unit, according to Disney-ABC Television Group Daytime President Brian Frons.

Goldberg will not give up her three-hour daily radio show, Wake Up with Whoopi, despite adding an hour of live television to her schedule.

As for the other slot left on the show, executive producer Bill Geddie warns not to expect a permanent replacement any time soon. He plans to narrow the field of possibles to eight to ten regulars, and expects that they will more than one day a week.