• Media Life, Friday, March 24, 2006 11:30 AM

“The Tony Danza Show,” now in its sophomore season, looks like it won't come back for its junior year, according to industry observers who have talked to Media Life.  Ratings are quite decent in many of its markets, and Danza himself has been a trouper, doing everything possible to build audience loyalty for his daytime talker.  But circumstances appear to be working against the Buena Vista-owned strip.  “Despite Danza giving the program his all, the probability of the program coming back for the 2006-2007 is at best a long shot,” Bill Carroll, director of programming at Katz TV Group, tells Media Life. “Danza” is doing decently in the ratings, with about the same household share as Maury and Martha, notes Carroll. The show held its 1.2 during February sweeps, despite competition from the Winter Olympics. Says Media Life:  "One problem “Danza” faces is that it got timeslot upgrades at the beginning of the season, and in major markets like Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, with the expectation that it would gain viewers. That should have pushed up ratings. It has not. But more important, back in December “Danza” lost two important markets, New York and Philadelphia, when stations said they [would] drop it for the new talk show featuring TV cooking star Rachael Ray. The show still hasn't found new stations in those top markets for next season." That failure will probably spell the end of “Danza.”

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