In Ro versus Babs, it's ready, set, ego

BY VERNE GAY | Newsday Staff Writer

January 31, 2007

This has been, to be sure, a diverting standoff.

Two strong-willed people - both outspoken, both rich, both successful, and both famously truculent. Both are also great talkers who know where the camera is and how to play to it for maximum effect.

And, of course, we're not talking about Rosie versus Trumpster here, but Rosie versus Barbara, or just plain Ro versus Babs, to the tabs. Rosie O'Donnell and Barbara Walters: Has a stage been built anywhere on this planet that's large enough to accommodate both of them for any length of time? Only five months on the air and already there's speculation that O'Donnell will leave "The View" by the time her contract is up this fall.

Broadcasting & Cable magazine reported last month that at a recent programming conference, her "reps" were floating various next-step scenarios for O'Donnell, including her own syndicated show or perhaps a solo cable shot that would be unencumbered by language prohibitions. (And just imagine what an unencumbered O'Donnell would have to say about Trump then.)

The speculation is nothing new. Almost from the very day she started in September, O'Donnell's "View" tenure was never expected to be measured in years but in months. Both she and "The View" signed, in fact, only a one-year deal, which was widely interpreted to mean that both were hedging their bets.

The reasons for a brief tour of duty - according to conventional wisdom and now parlayed nightly by the major tabloid shows - were obvious. She and Walters couldn't get along (and likely don't). There have been reports of backstage brawls (no surprise there, either). Also, critics generally think she's better suited to a solo show, and critics are probably right. Even O'Donnell herself has heaved fuel on the fire, musing publicly about becoming host of "The Price Is Right" after Bob Barker steps down later this year. (CBS' Dave Price will probably get the honors instead.)

Now, a reality check. By the measure that counts the most - ratings - O'Donnell's move to "The View" has been an outstanding success. The show averaged just more than 3 million viewers last fall, well north of the Meredith Vieira years. O'Donnell has also stoked media coverage of "The View," which is coin of the realm for this show and always has been. When she snaps at someone - from Anderson Cooper to Trump - the TV tabs run a story, and viewership spikes. Walters, meanwhile, is a part-owner of "The View," so why, one wonders, would she dump someone who's increased the value of her property?

In the end, all the "speculation" may just end up being the usual talk that typically precedes a negotiation. If O'Donnell's "reps" spin a story that she has other options, then that forces Walters and "The View" to start thinking about replacements. When Star Jones Reynolds and Vieira left, "The View's" brain trust quickly discovered the field wasn't quite as large as they might have expected or hoped.

So, will Rosie leave? Maybe.

Or maybe not.