Entertainment

Barbara won’t get O’s spot

ABC has told the cast of “The View” that they will not be replacing Oprah after next year.

The decision to keep “The View” at 11 a.m. will cost Barbara Walters more than just daytime’s most desirable timeslot.

Walters, who co-created and co-owns “The View” — in addition to starring on the show — stood to earn tens of million of dollars in the years ahead had the show been sold into syndication — like Oprah’s daytime series — according to industry estimates.

“It’s definitely not going to happen — both [ABC’s] syndication group and at the ABC affiliates meeting, they categorically said they’re not going to syndicate ‘The View,’ ” says industry analyst Bill Carroll of Katz Media Group.

“That’s as definitive as you can get.”

ABC syndication officials had no comment yesterday, and Walters did not reply to email questions.

“Oprah” ends its 25-season run in September 2011 and, while syndicating “The View” was never promised Walters, the highly rated daytime chatfest, which she created with Bill Geddie in 1997, was considered a leading contender to replace “Oprah.”

Both shows share a topical format and both appeal strongly to female viewers, which plays well as a lead-in to local newscasts.

Had “The View” been sold as a syndicated show, Walters would have reaped millions more from local ABC stations.

Walters told The Post in March that she had “mixed feelings” about the prospect of syndicating “The View” — but that she herself had broached the idea to ABC when Winfrey announced she was ending “Oprah.”

“We are comfortable and happy at 11 a.m., but 4 [p.m.] is better . . . and more lucrative,” Walters said.

“And [ABC] thought it was in interesting idea,” to syndicate the show, she added.