CBS’ “The Talk,” a daytime chatfest inspired by “The View,” was more popular than the ABC program in a week for the first time.

Amid a backdrop of more pending changes in the lineup of “The View,” the five-year-old CBS talkshow edged ahead in total viewers, 2.95 million to 2.88 million, according to Nielsen estimates for the week of Jan. 5-9. This is the largest audience for “The Talk” since last February.

The shows don’t go head-to-head, but the victory certainly gives “The Talk” some bragging rights in a week when it is also getting some latenight exposure on CBS.

“The Talk,” moderated by Julie Chen, had previously tied “The View” in demos, but this is the first time its original episodes have been more popular overall. Last week, the shows tied in both women 18-49 (0.7 rating) and women 25-54 (1.0).

Last week was something of an atypical week for “The View,” as it was pre-empted in some Eastern and Central markets on Friday. Also, Whoopi Goldberg and Rosie Perez were missing from the panel.

Variety reported earlier this week that after only four months on “The View,” Perez will be leaving the ABC morning show. Perez had taken off the month of January to appear in the Broadway play “Fish in the Dark,” but it’s understood that she won’t be coming back to the Hot Topics table once she’s done.