In Greater Boston ratings, WCVB was off 32 percent.
Ellen is no Oprah.
Since she replaced Oprah Winfrey in the 4 p.m. time slot, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has not delivered anywhere near the ratings of her powerhouse predecessor, nationally or in Greater Boston, where her show is carried on WCVB-TV (Channel 5). The station was down about 32 percent at 4 p.m. from last November, when Winfrey had 158,800 viewers.
In preliminary November sweeps ratings, it was WHDH-TV (Channel 7)’s newscast that led that time slot, with 107,800 viewers, slightly more than the audience for DeGeneres’ show. “Judge Judy’’ on WBZ-TV (Channel 4) came in third, with 86,200 viewers.
The numbers cover the high-stakes November sweeps, the first competitive test of the new TV season, up to Wednesday, last day of the ratings period. The early numbers were released to beat the holiday weekend. Local stations will use the final numbers, to be released Monday by Nielsen Co., to help set advertising rates.
DeGeneres’ shift from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. was a significant move for WCVB. It had depended on Winfrey’s show as a reliable lead-in for its 5 p.m. newscast, a dominant force for more than a decade.
In August, DeGeneres spent a day in Boston to plug her new time period, as media analysts wondered whether she could measure up to Winfrey’s numbers. Winfrey left daytime television in May to focus on her cable network, OWN.
Bill Carroll, a station adviser for Katz Television Group in New York City, said DeGeneres could still be considered a good performer for stations like WCVB. If she “is drawing a competitive audience in the time period, and having the ability to consistently over the years deliver that audience, then that is filling Oprah’s shoes,’’ he said.
Carroll also noted DeGeneres may be helping the newscasts that follow her show by delivering younger audiences. WCVB, for example, continued to win at 5 p.m., where its newscast garnered 188,400 viewers – up 13 percent from the year before. Bill Fine, WCVB general manager, said he was “thrilled’’ with DeGeneres. “She has grown book to book, and our 5 and 6 p.m. news totally dominated by larger margins than with Oprah as a lead in,’’ he said.
Overall, WCVB drew the most viewers in newscasts at 5 a.m., 6 a.m., and noon. At 6 p.m., it drew the largest news audience of the day, with 249,000 viewers, up 25 percent from a year ago.
The November race was also the first with three 10 p.m. newscasts. At that hour, WFXT-TV (Channel 25) had 99,100 viewers, followed by WLVI-TV (Channel 56) with 38,000, and WSBK-TV (Channel 38) with 15,600
In the lucrative 11 p.m. news race, WCVB led with 192,000 viewers, followed by WBZ with 125,000, WHDH with 101,800, and WFXT with 49,200.
Johnny Diaz can be reached at jodiaz@globe.com.