The first full week of the year was a good one for syndicated entertainment news magazines, according to the national household live plus same day ratings for the week ending Jan. 8.
While many syndicated shows were down week-to-week, with HUT (households using televisions) levels down an average 1.072 million, every entertainment news mag showed week-to-week growth.
Entertainment Tonight led the way as usual with a 5.4, up 8% for the week and its best number in six weeks. Inside Edition was second with a 3.6, up 9% for the week. ET spin-off The Insider was up 7% to a 2.9, Access Hollywood gained a genre-best 17% to a 2.8, and Extra advanced 4% to a 2.4.
In the talk-show category, Oprah and Dr. Phil were the only two shows to trend up week-to-week. Oprah was up 9% for the week to a 7.0, although that number was off 19% from a year ago. Dr. Phil gained 8% to a 5.2.
Live With Regis and Kelly fell 11% to a 3.2, Maury dropped 9% to a 3.0, Ellen was flat at a 2.5 (but the only talker up year-to-year, gaining 9%), and Montel and Jerry Springer each lost 9% to a 2.1.
The rookie talkers both averaged a 1.6, which was a 16% increase for The Tyra Banks Show and an 11% jump for Martha.
In court, only two shows were up for the week, with genre-topping Judge Judy up 8% for the week to a season-high 5.2, followed by Judge Joe Brown at a 3.3, a 3% gain.
The other five court shows all fell for the week, with People’s Court down 7% to a 2.8, Divorce Court down 7% to a 2.6, Judge Mathis off 7% to a 2.5, rookie Judge Alex down 8% to a 2.2, and Judge Hatchett falling 14% to a 1.8.
The game-show genre also saw weekly growth only for the top two titles, with Wheel of Fortune up 10% to a season-high 8.9, while Jeopardy! gained 4% to a 7.0. Who Wants To Be a Millionaire was flat at a 3.3, while Family Feud fell 9% for the week to a 2.1.
