DeGeneres Show gets unanimous support from NBC stations

Ellen DeGeneres received an early Christmas present from NBC when all 14 television stations owned and operated by the network agreed to pick up the second season of her talk show, The Hollywood Reporter reported on Monday. The deal means that The Ellen DeGeneres Show's 2004-2005 season is already guaranteed to be available in more than 60% of the country and in 19 out of the top 20 markets (including deals with other stations). The second season of the five-days-a-week daytime chatfest is now sold in more than 50 television markets in all, according to the Reporter. "We couldn't be more pleased with our partnership with NBC on Ellen," said Warner Bros. television executive Dick Robertson. "This series has proved to be the right fit for them, attracting the upscale, young audience that watches their stations. NBC has done everything that they can to support the successful launch of the show, and we are delighted that our partnership will continue." Ratings for The Ellen DeGeneres Show were strong in the important "sweeps" month of November, averaging a 2.8 rating (about 3 million viewers) and an 8 share (representing 8% of all households watching television at that time).