Three
syndie strips -- Dr. Phil, Rachael Ray and Who Wants to be a Millionaire -- scored new season highs in the week
ending Oct. 24. Otherwise, it was a tough week for syndies, many of which were
preempted by five days of baseball playoffs, or were affected by Fox's dispute
with Cablevision over retransmission consent fees, particularly in New York.
CBS
Television Distribution's Dr. Phil reclaimed second
place among the veteran talkers, improving 13% to a 2.6 live plus same day
household ratings average, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's the show's
highest rating since last May. Phil's
best showing of the week came from an episode on controlling spouses, which
took ratings up 22% to a 2.8 on Oct. 18. CTD's Rachael Ray climbed 7% to a 1.6, cooking its highest ratings in 23
weeks, after getting a 20% ratings boost from an appearance by The View's Whoopi Goldberg on Oct. 18.
The
only other talk gainers were CTD's Oprah,
which remaining at the top of both talkers and daytime, jumping 6% to a 5.2,
and Sony's Dr. Oz, which tacked on 5%
to claim a fourth place 2.3. Disney-ABC's Live
with Regis and Kelly, Warner Bros.' Ellen
DeGeneres, NBC Universal's Maury,
CTD's The Doctors, NBCU's Steve Wilkos and NBCU's Jerry Springer all were flat at a 2.4,
2.0, 2.0, 1.7, 1.3 and 1.3, respectively. In last place, Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams was the lone talk show to
decline, decreasing 9% to a 1.0.
Among
the games, Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a
Millionaire gained 10% a 2.3, its best performance in nine weeks. CTD's Wheel of Fortune remained syndication's
top show and top game, but dipped 5% to a 6.1. In second place, CTD's Jeopardy! fell 2% to a 5.4. Debmar-Mercury's
Family Feud was flat at a 1.5, while Twentieth's
Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader trailed
the field at an unchanged 0.9.
Warner
Bros.' TMZ took syndication's biggest
hit due to the Fox-Cablevision dispute, sinking 17% to a 1.5 household average,
the show's lowest rating ever and the first time the magazine has landed in
last place in the genre. TMZ lost 70%
of its overnight rating on WNYW in New York, which wasn't being shown on the Cablevision
cable systems that cover more than 40% of the New York market.
The other
magazines all were unchanged from the previous week. CTD's leader, Entertainment Tonight, remained at a 3.9,
while CTD's second-place Inside Edition
was at a 2.8. CTD's The Insider and NBCU's
Access Hollywood remained deadlocked
for the fourth week in a row at a 1.8. Warner Bros.' Extra was steady at a 1.6 in households and gained 20% among young
women 18-34, while Warner Bros.' Extra
Weekend continued its surge, gaining 33% from last year to a 1.2 after
holding firm week to week.
CTD's Swift Justice with Nancy Grace also took
a hit due to the Cablevision dispute, but managed to hold steady at a 1.3,
despite losing 70% of its New York audience. Among the other first-run rookie
strips, Sony's Nate Berkus dropped
back 10% to a 0.9, tying Twentieth's Don't
Forget the Lyrics, which grew 13% to a 0.9. Litton's Judge Karen's Court, cleared in 70% of the country, fell 14% to a
0.6, while Entertainment Studios' America's
Court with Judge Ross was flat at a 0.4.
Twentieth's
How I Met Your Mother continued to
lead the new off-net and off-cable strips, but dipped 4% to a 2.2. Warner Bros.'
New Adventures of Old Christine and Debmar-Mercury's
Meet the Browns each were flat at a
1.3 and 1.2, respectively. Debmar-Mercury's E!
True Hollywood Story advanced 14% to a 0.8, tying Disney-ABC's Ugly Betty, which was unchanged at a
0.8. Warner Bros.' off-HBO Curb Your
Enthusiasm recovered 17% to a 0.7, tying its off-HBO sibling Entourage, which was flat. NBCU's off-Bravo
Real Housewives held firm at a 0.5.
Among
the veteran court shows, CTD's Judge Judy
stayed steady at a 4.3. CTD's Judge Joe
Brown and Warner Bros.' People's
Court remained tied, each slipping 5% to a 1.9. Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis rose 7% to a 1.6. Twentieth's
Judge Alex and Divorce Court and Warner Bros.' Judge
Jeanine Pirro all were unchanged at a 1.3, 1.2 and 0.9, respectively.
NBCU's off-net
sitcom, The Office, leapt 91% to a
4.2, after getting a ratings bump from its new lead-in on TBS, Major League
Baseball's playoff games. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men, with star Charlie
Sheen back in hot water, remained on top with a 5.2, but lost 4% from the prior
week. In third place, Twentieth's Family
Guy was flat at a 3.0. Warner Bros.' My
Wife and Kids jumped 8% to a 2.6, moving up to tie CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond, which faded 7%.
Warner Bros.' George Lopez dipped 4%
to a 2.3, while Sony's Seinfeld
stumbled to a new season-low 2.2 after falling 8% and landing in a tie with Twentieth's
unchanged King of the Hill.
