This year was a year of transition for our talk show world. Hosts like Stephen Colbert, Craig Ferguson, Chelsea Handler, Jay Leno and David Letterman either announced their retirement, retired altogether, or left late night to pursue new opportunities in 2015.

Of course that means a number of new hosts – and new hosts to old shows – will soon take their place. Who will succeed? Who will fail? And what will the talk show landscape look like at the end of 2015.

No one knows, of course. That’s no reason we shouldn’t make a few predictions. Last year, for example, we predicted late night would undergo a renaissance and Letterman would announce his retirement. Home runs! We also said diversity would help daytime flourish and The View would announce its final season. Strike outs!

How will we do this year? Let’s step up to the plate and see!

No. 1: ABC will welcome a woman to late night

I’m being incredibly specific with this one and with good reason. NBC and CBS both sport 12:30 a.m. talk shows – the Late Late Showand Late Night, respectively – while ABC broadcasts Nightline. Shifting Nightline to 1 or 1:30 a.m. and slotting in a talk show to compete against newbie James Corden and sophomore Seth Meyers is a no brainer. Hire Amy Schumer (the perfect candidate, which is why we keep promoting her) and the 12:30 a.m. slot and ABC could conquer that late night slot easily.

If that exact prediction doesn’t come true (and, c’mon, how could it not?), I do expect a female host to be announced sometime in 2015, if not on one of the four big networks, then on a major cable channel.

No. 2: CBS’s late shift goes rocky; network considers replacing Corden

After Letterman leaves and Colbert takes over, things won’t go as smooth for CBS as they did for NBC. When Fallon moved down from 12:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., everyone was ready for something new and fresh on The Tonight Show. Letterman’s departure is closer to Carson’s. And while Colbert is a much loved host, fans won’t find the Colbert persona at the helm of the Late Show. That might come as a surprise, even going into the new show. Plus, Colbert was a bit of a lightning rod. A large section of CBS’s late night demographic may avoid the program altogether.

Corden is a long shot. He’s a bit of an unknown, at least on this side of the Atlantic. He’s not quite the same as the man he replaces. And he may be no match for a known entity like Meyers. CBS must decide it will stick with him the way NBC stuck with Conan O’Brien when the redheaded host took over Late Night, or Corden’s time on the Late Late Show could be short.

All this adds up to a rocky start for Colbert and Corden – enough that network execs will bite fingernails and make proclamations before the dust – and nerves – settle.

No. 3: Streaming services will challenge broadcast talk shows

Chelsea Handler’s Netflix show is still a year away, but that won’t stop Hulu, Crackle and other streaming services from adding new talk show offerings to challenge the Big Four in late night. Though with streaming services, we may need to add “anytime talk shows” to our list of daytime and late night fare. Crackle already offers one of the best talk shows on the telly, Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Hulu rebroadcasts talk shows from ABC, NBC and Comedy Central. Even Larry King is back at it on Ora.tv and Hulu with Larry King Now. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if some big names launch new talk shows via these pioneering digital services. Say, someone like Ferguson, Leno or Schumer.

No. 4: Ellen DeGeneres will set an end-date to her talk show

No, no, I don’t have any insider information, nor do I have any real reason to believe Ellen is done with her daytime show. Gut instinct, though, makes me wonder if Ellen isn’t ready to tell her fans that she only has two or three years left before she’s ready to retire from daytime talk. Her contract extends through the 2016-2017 season. By the time it’s up for renewal, Ellen will be close to 60 years old. While she easily could host her show another 10 years or more, 60 might feel like the right time to spend more time with family and friends – or pursue the next chapter in her career. So could we see Ellen announce in fall 2015 that we only have two seasons left of daytime dancing? Yea, I think it’s possible – and for all the right reasons.

No. 5: Daytime talk grows stale

As late night grows more vibrant and appealing, daytime television falls into a malaise. Let’s be honest. We may already be there. Where once hosts like Rosie O’Donnell and Oprah Winfrey made headlines and talk shows like Ellen and Dr. Phil were all the rage, daytime talk today is stagnant. It will only get worse through 2015. Why? Blame digital and social media. Late night shows feed social media with over-the-top comedy, silly pranks and hot musical acts in unusual situations every day, all the time. Daytime shows can’t contribute shareable content because the format of most shows isn’t as slice- and diceable as most light night formats are. When will it change? When daytime determines how its content can make a splash in the digital world.