OPRAH SAY'S AFTER 25 YEARS SHE THINKS IT'S TIME TO GIVE IT UP! SHE SHOULD TELL THAT TO SOME OF THESE RAPPERS!

The Queens of Daytime TV wept Friday as she relinquishes her throne - while a pack of pretenders lined up to claim her crown when she finally leaves that stage in 2011.
Oprah Winfrey teared up as she confirmed that next season would be her 25th - and her last.

"This show has been my life," she said. "And I love it enough to know when it's time to say goodbye. Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and it feels right in my spirit."

Even before Winfrey uttered those words, speculation abounded about who would replace her, with the favorite appearing to be Ellen Degeneres - another stereotype-shattering TV personality with an instantly identifiable first name.

Bill Carroll, the programming czar at the Katz Media Group, said Winfrey is a hard act to follow.

"I think there is one, and only one, Oprah," Carroll said. "She is a unique personality, and more importantly, came on at a specific time and place, which is dramatically different from the current media environment."

When Winfrey started out, there were fewer TV options for afternoon viewers, and now the waters are far more treacherous for wanna-be talk show hosts, Carroll said.

"Everybody in America who believes they should be hosting a talk show is calling their agent today and saying, 'I'm now ready,'" he said. "The only thing I would suggest is that their agent give them Jane Pauley's number, or Tony Danza, or Howie Mandel's number."

On the streets of Manhattan, many New Yorkers said Ellen should be Winfrey's successor.

"She's unique, she's funny, she's just like Oprah," said Carol Galloway, 58, of Jamaica, Queens.

Judy Mezzone, 55, of Port Washington, L.I., said Ellen is "down to earth" like Winfrey.

"She doesn't put on any airs," said Mezzone. "She does everything so natural."

Winfrey is launching the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) in 2011. It will reach 70 million homes and Winfrey could end up hosting a show there.