Ellen DeGeneres is New Favorite TV Personality as Oprah Slips to Number Two

Business Wire, Jan 14, 2008

A Cartoon Star Breaks Into the Top Ten for the First Time

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Ellen DeGeneres has vaulted to the top spot in The Harris Poll's annual favorite television star list after five years in the bottom five, including last year's tie for the number eight position. And, after five years as number one, Oprah Winfrey drops to second place this year. Jay Leno is third, a rise for him from last year when he was number six. Hugh Laurie remains as number four in his second year on the list, and Jon Stewart drops from number two to number five.

These are the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,171 U.S. adults surveyed online between December 4 and 12, 2007 by Harris Interactive([R]).

Rounding out the top ten, two late night talk show hosts are tied for number six - David Letterman and Stephen Colbert with Bill O'Reilly at number eight. Tied for number nine are two comedians - one real, Ray Romano, and one a cartoon figure, Homer Simpson.

While there are two new additions to the list this year, Stephen Colbert and Homer Simpson, two others have dropped off -- Kiefer Sutherland of 24, and Conan O'Brien.

A Breakdown of Your American Idol's

When the ten stars on this list are looked at more closely, a theme emerges. Seven of them have a talk show - either late night (Leno, Stewart, Letterman and Colbert), prime time (O'Reilly) or daytime (DeGeneres and Winfrey). Just two are from sitcoms, with Homer Simpson probably getting a boost from the summer release of The Simpsons Movie, and the other, Ray Romano, from a show that has been canceled for a few years now. Only one drama star, House's Hugh Laurie is on the list.

Different Strokes for Different Groups

Different groups do have different favorites. Men, for example, cite Jay Leno as their favorite television star while women say it's Ellen DeGeneres. Even among women there is a difference of opinion as single women say Ellen is their favorite while married women pick Oprah. Among age groups there is also a difference. Among Echo Boomers (those aged 18-30) Stephen Colbert is number one and for Generation Xers (those aged 31-42) it's a tie between Jay Leno and Jon Stewart. Oprah Winfrey is tops among Baby Boomers (those aged 43-61) and she's tied with Bill O'Reilly for the top spot among Matures (those aged 62 and older).

And, in this election year, there are also partisan and ideological differences not just for candidates, but also for favorite television star. Republicans say Bill O'Reilly is their favorite while Democrats cite Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey. Don't look for the Independents as the tie breaker on this one - they say Jay Leno is tops. While one might assume that Bill O'Reilly would also be number one among Conservatives, that's not the case - Jay Leno actually is. Liberals cite Ellen DeGeneres and Jon Stewart as their favorite while Oprah Winfrey is number one among Moderates.

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Methodology

This Harris Poll([R]) was conducted online within the United States December 4 and 12, among 1,171 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is one of the largest and fastest-growing market research firms in the world. The company provides innovative research, insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll([R]), one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a global network of independent market research firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.