Source: Jenny McCarthy’s ‘View’ contract likely won’t be renewed

Jenny McCarthy, left, and Sherri Shepherd host "The View." (©2014 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.)

LOS ANGELES – After just one season, Jenny McCarthy may be out of “The View.”

According to a well-placed insider, the former Playboy Playmate’s contract on the talk show is up for renewal in July and ABC will likely not be re-inking the deal.

“Jenny just didn’t appeal to the daytime audience market. They couldn’t relate to her,” a source told FOX411. “There are a lot of changes taking place now that Barbara [Walters] has left.”

It is typical that network talent deals last one year, with options for renewal thereafter.

ABC says that while its policy prohibits them from discussing talent contracts, “Jenny has been a welcome addition to the show.” A representative for McCarthy did not respond to requests for comment.

Show ratings have dipped slightly since McCarthy came on-board. Figures from the last two months have not been made available, but as of April 2014, numbers on “The View” were down by about 5 percent compared with last season. While viewership for the long-running ABC show is still at the top, CBS’s rival program “The Talk” has climbed 19 percent from its past season.

But McCarthy’s hiring attracted controversy from the moment ABC named her as Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s replacement last July. Media and medical experts expressed concern that McCarthy – a vocal opponent of vaccinations – would influence parents’ immunization decisions.

Rumors that McCarthy was facing the axe started circling in October, after just one month in the job. According to reports at the time, she was less favored than Hasselbeck, who moved over to co-host “Fox & Friends,” and initial findings were that audiences tuned out when McCarthy weighed in.

However, such reports were promptly dismissed by ABC.

“Now that Barbara has retired, ABC has more autonomy to hire who they want for the show,” added our source. “But no matter what, Barbara will not let this show fail. She wants talent that will appeal to the daytime viewers.”

Follow @holliesmckay on Twitter

Danielle Jones-Wesley contributed to this report.