The three new talk shows -- Disney-ABC's Katie, CBS Television Distribution's Jeff Probst and Twentieth's Ricki Lake -- should hope to perform as well in their opening week, which kicks off Monday, Sept. 10, as last week's syndie premieres did.
NBCU's new talker, Steve Harvey, averaged a 1.5 rating/4 share among households in the metered markets for its first week, improving its time slots (1.0/3) by 50% from last year to a 1.5 rating/4 share, and improving on its average lead-in rating (1.2/4) by 25%. Steve Harvey, which is produced by Endemol USA, premiered on Tuesday, Sept. 4, the day after Labor Day.
Harvey ended its first week on a high note, scoring its best rating of its first four days on Friday, Sept. 7, a 1.6/5. That's especially positive because most shows' ratings decline on Fridays.
On WNBC New York at 3 p.m., Steve Harvey scored a 1.6/4, up 129% from the show it replaced, the locally produced New York Live, which averaged a 0.7/2 last year at this time. Harvey also improved 300% from its lead-in, which is Sony's now-canceled Nate Berkus at a 0.4/1.
Steve Harvey appeared to appeal to women, improving year-ago time periods among all of the key female demographics by 100%. Among women 18-34, Harvey grew to a 0.6/4 from a 0.3/2. Among women 18-49, the show scored a 0.8/5, up from last year's 0.4/2. And among women 25-54, daytime's most important demo, Harvey hit a 1.0/6, up from a 0.5/3.
Harvey wasn't alone in hitting some daytime high notes, with Disney-ABC's Live! with Kelly and Michael, featuring the first week with new host Michael Strahan, opening with a 3.3/12 for its first week.
That was up 22% from Live! with Regis and Kelly's performance last year at a 2.7/9. Live!, which airs on ABC owned and affiliated stations in most big markets, was even with its 3.3/11 lead-in, most often Good Morning America.
On WABC New York, Live! averaged a 4.6/15 for the week, up 84% from the show's September 2011 2.5/9 performance and up 21% from its GMA lead-in at a 3.8/12.
Live! also was New York's highest-rated show at 9 a.m., where it doubled the rating of the slot's second-highest rated show, WNBC's third hour of Today at a 2.3/7.
Live! was the top-rated show in its time period in 13 of the top 15 markets.
Demographically, Live! saw double-digit increases in every key female demo, improving among women 18-34 by 50%, to a 0.9/8 from a 0.6/5; among women 18-49, the show jumped 40% to a 1.4/11 from a 1.0/8; and among women 25-54, Live! was up 36% to a 1.9/13 from a 1.4/10 last year at this time. Live! also improved upon its lead-ins in the key female demos, gaining 29%, 27% and 19%, respectively.
