Dr. Phil, Live with Kelly and Ryan and daytime’s other top strips bloomed as May got underway in the week ended May 2.
With heavy preemptions for coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial behind them, most of the big court and talk shows, especially those cleared on Big Four network affiliates, scored double-digit percentage increases.
Access programs, such as games and magazines, were mainly flat to down as preemptions -- primarily in some West Coast markets -- occurred for President Joe Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress, which didn’t begin until 9 p.m. ET on April 28, as well as ABC’s coverage of the NFL draft, which started at 8 p.m. ET on April 29 and at 7 p.m. ET on April 30.
CBS Media Ventures’ Judge Judy scored daytime’s most favorable ratings verdict, leaping 19% to lead the courts at a 5.1 live plus same day national Nielsen, its best performance since the week ending March 21.
CMV’s Hot Bench heated up 7% to a seven-week high 1.6 for second place in court.
Rounding out the legal field, Warner Bros.’ People’s Court, NBCUniversal’s Judge Jerry and Warner Bros.’ Judge Mathis all held steady at series lows 0.8, 0.6 and 0.6, respectively. Fox’s Divorce Court jumped 20% to a 0.6, tying Jerry and Mathis. Repeats of Trifecta’s Protection Court stayed put at a 0.2 for the eighth time in nine weeks.
CMV’s Dr. Phil rebounded 21% to a 1.7, tying Disney’s season-to-date talk leader Live with Kelly and Ryan for the fourth time in the past five weeks.
Live, which was the sole top four talker to move up in the prior week, slipped 6%, although its annual “Live’s After-Oscar Show” on Monday April 26 notched a 2.0 individual day household rating, up 11% from the prior week’s average.
Among daytime’s key demographic of adults 25-54, Live led at a 0.8.
NBCU’s sophomore Kelly Clarkson improved 13% to a six-week high 0.9, tying Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams, which also added 13%. Also at a 0.9 were Warner Bros.’ Ellen DeGeneres, which was flat for the fourth straight week and NBCU’s conflict talker Maury, which also held steady for a fifth straight week.
Right behind was Disney’s sophomore Tamron Hall, which improved 14% to a 0.8. NBCU’s Steve Wilkos and CMV’s Rachael Ray both remained at their season lows of 0.7.
SPT’s Dr. Oz, Warner Bros.’ The Real, CMV’s The Doctors and NBCU’s out-of-production syndicated run of Jerry Springer all were on par with the prior week. Oz delivered a 0.6 for the fifth time in six weeks, The Real registered a 0.4 for the 20th consecutive week, The Doctors dawdled at a series-low 0.2 for the tenth straight week and Springer stayed at a series-low 0.2 for the 34th week in row.
CMV’s renewed rookie Drew Barrymore maintained a 0.5 for the fifth consecutive week.
Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud remained the syndication and game leader at a stable 5.5 for the second straight week. CMV’s Jeopardy! with CNN’s Anderson Cooper at the podium in his second week as guest host, slid 6% to a 4.8, the show’s lowest rating since the Christmas rerun week ended Dec. 27, 2020. CMV’s Wheel of Fortune, which is paired with Jeopardy! in the country’s largest markets, also fell back 6% to a 4.8.
Fox’s 25 Words or Less logged a 0.8 for the fourth straight week, while Entertainment Studios; Funny You Should Ask answered with a 20% decline to a 0.4, garnering that number for the ninth time in ten weeks.
Disne’s internet video show RightThisMinute sustained a series-low 0.6 for the sixth straight week.
Magazines, for the most part, held their ground, buoyed by next-day coverage of the low-rated 93rd Academy Awards on ABC on Sunday, April 25. CMV’s Inside Edition posted a 2.1 for the third time in four weeks, adding 5% to a single-day 2.2 household rating on Monday, April 26. CMV’s Entertainment Tonight eased 9% to a 2.0, even though its Oscars’ coverage forged ahead 5% to a 2.3 to lead the pack. NBCU’s Access Hollywood, Warner Bros.’ TMZ and Extra and CMV’s DailyMailTV all were in line with the prior week’s 0.9, 0.8, 0.6 and 0.6, respectively. However, next-day Oscar recaps saw Access Hollywood elevating 11% to a 1.0, TMZ remaining at a 0.8, Extra shooting up 33% to a 0.8 and DailyMailyTV delivering a steady 0.6. Fox’s Dish Nation remained at a 0.3 for the 35th straight week.
Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory continued to set the pace among the off-network sitcoms, leading the pack at a 2.4 for a fifth straight week. Disney’s Last Man Standing stumbled 6% to a 1.7. Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men stood pat at a 1.0 for the tenth consecutive week. Disney’s Modern Family fell 10% to a 0.9, tying SPT’s The Goldbergs, which stayed put for the seventh straight week. Disney’s Family Guy and SPT’s Seinfeld both sagged 11% to a 0.8, tying Warner Bros.’ 2 Broke Girls, which broke even. Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly stayed at a 0.7 for the ninth straight week. Disney’s Black-ish bounced back 20% to a 0.6, tying Warner Bros.’ Mom, which moved down 14%.
