IS OPRAH'S REIGN SLIPPING?

Oprah Winfrey may be the Queen of Daytime TV, but it seems her reign may be slipping.
The ratings for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" during the week ending July 5 were the lowest since the talk show's debut in 1983, averaging only a 3.2 household rating, according to Medialifemagazine.com.

So how did the most popular woman in television have such a change of fortune?

Granted, it was a holiday weekend during the peak of cable coverage of Michael Jackson's death. In addition, the Wimbledon tennis tournament was on the air, and "Oprah" has been in repeats all summer.

That said, this was no ratings nosedive; viewership has actually been declining for months. The week before, the show received a 3.6 rating, matching its previous all-time low approximately a year ago.

The media mogul's talk show is still the No. 1 in TV and was the No. 2 show in syndication for the week. The big concern for Oprah is whether this dip in ratings is just a temporary summer slump, or a sign Winfrey's dominence is coming to an end.

"Oprah" has weathered the occasional ratings drop over its 23-year run, including in October 2008, when some say viewers turned away from the show due to her outspoken support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

According to the Daily Telegraph, critics reasoned that a large proportion of the talk show's viewers are white, middle-aged women who likely supported Hillary Clinton or voted Republican.

However, it is still too early to say Oprah's show is on its last legs.

TVweek speculates that "Oprah's Summer Giveaway," a 3-month-long watch-and-win promotional contest, may entice viewers to tune into the show's syndicated episodes before the new season premiers on Sept. 14.