Regis Philbin's "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" is a ratings phenomenon for ABC nationally, but Oprah Winfrey's presence in the WFOR-Channel 4 lineup is creating advertising millions.

The recently released November sweeps book (concluded Dec. 1) reveal that talk-show mogul Oprah's rollover audience effect has helped catapult WFOR into the No. 1 English-language station in prime time and from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. (known as sign-on to sign-off) for the first time in station history.

"It's the culmination of a plan, not just Oprah," said WFOR Vice President and General Manager Steve Mauldin, who has made wholesale changes in the frontline on-air talent since taking over from Alan Shaklan in 1998. "However, Oprah is the key element."

Winfrey's triple-digit gains in the 4 to 5 p.m. slot -- a 130 percent jump in ratings in the past year -- has paved the way for WFOR to make significant gains across the board in each of its newscasts, with the best move jumping from a distant fourth to third (excluding WLTV-Ch. 23) in the 5 to 6 p.m. news block. The rating went up 68 percent in the past year.

In both sign-on to sign-off and prime time, WFOR leapfrogged over the former home of Winfrey's talk show, WPLG-10, which decided...