Warner Bros.' rookie off-net sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, made it two in a row in the week ending Dec. 18, beating Warners' veteran Two and a Half Men with a 6.7 live plus same day household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. That's a 5% bump over the prior week, when Big Bang claimed the crown for first in what's likely to be a long string of weekly victories.
Men, meanwhile, dipped 2% to a 6.2, while Twentieth's Family Guy grew 7% to a new season-high 4.5. Twentieth's How I Met Your Mother was flat at a 3.5. Sony's Seinfeld slipped 4% to a 2.7, while Warner Bros.' Friends and CBS Television Distribution's Everybody Loves Raymond each added 4% to a 2.5.
Besides Big Bang Theory, the rest of the rookie sitcoms were flat, with NBCU's 30 Rock at a 1.4, Twentieth's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia at a 1.2 and Sony's ‘Til Death at a 0.7.
Meanwhile, CTD's Dr. Phil took the talk crown for the 11th time in this season's 14 weeks, remaining even with the prior week at a 3.0 and improving 7% over last year at this time. Disney-ABC's Live! with Kelly added 4% to a 2.8, a 3% dip from last year at this time when Regis Philbin remained the show's co-host.
Sony's Dr. Oz dropped 7% to a third place 2.6, tying Warner Bros.' Ellen, which improved 4% to a 2.6. NBCU's Maury, CTD's Rachael Ray, NBCU's Jerry Springer and CTD's The Doctors all were flat at a 2.3, 1.6, 1.5 and 1.4, respectively.
NBCU's Steve Wilkos weakened 7% to a 1.3, while Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams and Sony's Nate Berkus, which will end its run after this season, each were flat at a 1.1.
Warner Bros.' Anderson led the first-run freshman at a 1.3, off 7% from the prior week. Debmar-Mercury's Jeremy Kyle and Entertainment Studios' We the People with Gloria Allred each were unchanged at a 0.6 and 0.5, respectively.
CTD's new late-night dating show, Excused, held steady at a 0.7.
CTD's Judge Judy presided over the court shows with a stable 7.0. In second place, CTD's Judge Joe Brown eased 4% to a 2.7. Warner Bros.' People's Court was flat at a 2.0. Twentieth's Judge Alex declined 6% to a 1.7. Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis remained at a 1.6, while Twentieth's Divorce Court dropped 12% to a 1.5. CTD's Swift Justice was off 14% to a new season-low 1.2 and Entertainment Studios' America's Court with Judge Ross was unchanged at a 0.9.
Magazines all were steady to higher, except Warner Bros.' TMZ, which declined 5% from the prior week to a fourth-place 1.9. CTD's Entertainment Tonight topped the category at a steady 3.7. CTD's Inside Edition added 3% to a strong second-place 3.1. NBCU's Access Hollywood showed the most growth of any magazines, climbing 5% to a 2.0. CTD's The Insider and Warner Bros.' Extra each held firm at a 1.6.
Among the games, CTD's Wheel of Fortune slowed 5% to a 7.1, but remained the top syndicated show. CTD's Jeopardy! softened 8% to a 5.8. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud finished 3% higher at a 3.2, while Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire fell 8% to a 2.4.
