As Oprah Winfrey’s 25 year run as the “Queen of Daytime Television” approaches its close, web-users show no signs of letting their infatuation with Ms. Winfrey wane. Searches for all variations of “Oprah” have not slipped over the past three years; though there is a seasonal decline during The Oprah Winfrey Show’s annual summer hiatus.

Though searches for all variations of “Oprah” remain robust, the market share of visits for www.Oprah.com has slipped slightly; comparing September ’09 – April ’10 vs. September ’10 – April ’11, the site has experienced a 5% decline in market share. (Peak in May ’09 was driven by intense interest in Ms. Winfrey’s interview with Elizabeth Edwards.

Oprah’s protégés have had mixed performances online – Rachael Ray lost 29% of its market share of visits (September ’09- April ’10 vs. September ’10 – April ’11), Suze Orman dropped 33% and Bob Greene’s site lost 62% of its share. Dr. Oz’s website has emerged as the winner, with market share increasing 47%. Dr. Phil had a resurgence, growing his share 33%. Nate Berkus‘ show and website launched this year; besides peaks in September (the site’s launch) and February (due to a contest), the site has steadily been gaining traction.

Given the data, it appears that web-users are still very interested in Ms. Winfrey herself and that their interest in her programming is slowly declining; moreover, general interest in the Oprah brand declines when The Oprah Winfrey Show is on hiatus. As she turns to focus on her OWN TV network, it will be important to keep the channel closely aligned with the cult of personality media consumers have foisted upon Ms. Winfrey, in order to best capitalize on web-users’ interests.
Thanks to Margot Bonner, Analyst on the Custom Data & Insights team for today’s analysis.