Desperate Execs May Hold Nationwide Search For New ‘The View’ Co-Hosts

The View’s fresh look – and new famous faces – haven’t proved strong enough to give the morning talk show the boost it needs to win the ratings game.

With the floundering show now in ABC News’ sites, execs are desperately brainstorming ideas to breathe new life into it.

That means taking the show back to its roots, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.

“To boost ratings, there have been talks that The View will bring back its nationwide search for co-hosts,” a show insider reveals.

The last time the chatfest reached far and wide to publicly find the perfect panel was in 1999 when journalist Lisa Ling joined the trailblazing show after beating out 12,000 hopefuls who had auditioned to replace Debbie Matenopoulos.

The potential move comes on the heels of the recent much-publicized search to fill Jenny McCarthy and Sherri Shepherd’s vacant seats in a process that was fraught with on-camera feuding and diva behavior between the finalists and veterans Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie O’Donnell.

And when actress Rosie Perez and CNN’s Nicolle Wallace were the last-minute surprise picks, O’Donnell even threatened to leave the show.

“It could be really good for the show,” notes the insider, “because it would really get the audience more involved.”

But the current ladies aren't going anywhere: The search would be for new co-hosts to join the existing panel, says the source.

Do you think searching nationwide for a co-host is a good idea, or will an unknown bomb? Tell us in the comments section.