TODAY’S TALKER

Amid ratings free fall, Ellen issues apology for workplace misconduct

When Ellen Degeneres returned from a summer hiatus to open the 18th season of her daytime talk show in September, she came armed with an apology. “I learned that things happen here that never should have happened,” she said. “I take that very seriously. And I want to say I am so sorry tothe people who were affected.” Those remarks came in the wake of reports of workplace misconduct at “The Ellen Degeneres Show.”

Viewers tuned in for the apology: This year’s season opener had the highest ratings for an “Ellen” premiere in four years. And then they tuned out. “Ellen” has lost more than 1 million viewers since September, according to the research firm Nielsen, averaging 1.5 million viewers over the past six months, down from 2.6 million in the same period last year.

The decline has come at a time when workplace behavior, in Hollywood and elsewhere, has come under intense scrutiny against a backdrop of protest and social change. It is a startling setback for one of daytime television’s most successful franchises and for Degeneres, who was at the forefront of an earlier cultural shift when, as the star of a prime-time network sitcom in the 1990s, she announced that she is gay.

The show’s loss of more than 1 million viewers translates to a 43% decline, representing a steeper drop than any of its competitors. This TV season, “Ellen,” the winner of dozens of Emmys since its start in 2003, is no longer in the same league as traditional rivals such as “Dr. Phil” (2.5 million) and “Live: With Kelly and Ryan” (2.7 million).