Syndication Ratings: 'Family Feud' Celebrates New Year With Season-High 5.1

Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud started 2013 off with a
bang, finally breaking through the 5.0 barrier to hit a 5.1 in the week ended
Jan. 6.

The typically slow week of repeats also was good for
magazines, which saw ratings improve across the board on news of Kim
Kardashian's pregnancy, and for Disney-ABC's Live! with Kelly and Michael,
which was the top talker for the third week in a row.

Family Feud increased 11% from the prior week to hit
a new season-high 5.1. CTD's game leader, Wheel of Fortune, inched up 3%
to a 6.9. CTD's Jeopardy! upticked 2% to a 6.0. Disney-ABC's Who
Wants to Be a Millionaire
was the only game to lose ground, declining 4% to
a 2.4 amid news that longtime host Meredith Vieira will depart the program
after this season. NBCU's newbie Baggage zipped ahead 9% to a 1.2.

In access, five of the seven magazines clocked double-digit
increases. CTD's leader, ET, grew 16% from the prior week to a 3.6.
CTD's Inside Edition was up 12% to a 2.9. Warner Bros.' TMZ
improved 6% to a 1.8. NBCUniversal's Access Hollywood had the largest
gain in the group, advancing 21% to a 1.7. Warner Bros.' Extra jumped
15% to a 1.5.

CTD's The Insider, in the last week before its
rebrand as omg! Insider, came in last among the vets at a 1.4. But
the show's new version, which launched on Jan. 7, climbed 6% in households and
20% among women 25-54 in its first week in the metered markets in the week
ending Jan. 13, compared to the show's prior four-week averages. On WCBS New
York at 7 p.m., omg! Insider climbed 13% in households to a 3.1 rating/6
in households and improved 43% to a 2.0/6 among women 25-54 in its first week
on WCBS at 7 p.m.

Twentieth's freshman Dish Nation rose 13% to a 0.9.

Live! led the talk shows for the third consecutive
week, although the show, which aired mostly repackaged episodes, slipped 7%
compared to the prior week. Live! also was tops in the key women 25-54
demo with a 1.6.

CTD's Dr. Phil climbed 13% to a second-place 2.6.
Warner Bros.' Ellen added 10% to a 2.3, tying Sony Pictures
Television's Dr. Oz, which improved 5% for the week. NBCU's Maury
dipped 8% to a 2.2.

CTD's Rachael Ray took a 6% breather to a 1.6 after
three straight weeks of increases. NBCU's Steve Wilkos fell back 6% from
the series high it set the week before to a 1.5. CTD's The Doctors held
firm at a 1.4, tying NBCU's Jerry Springer, which dropped 7% to a 1.4.
Warner Bros.' Anderson Live climbed 9% to a 1.2, while Debmar-Mercury's Wendy
Williams
weakened 8% to a 1.1, followed by Debmar-Mercury's Jeremy Kyle,
which was flat at a 0.5.

Among talk's newcomers, Disney-ABC's Katie clocked
its strongest ratings since mid-November, growing 6% for the week to a 1.9,
even though the show was in repeats for the week. Most syndicated shows broke
the low-rated New Year's Day out of their weekly ratings average; Katie also
broke out New Year's Eve.

NBCU's Steve Harvey pushed ahead 8% to a 1.4 after its
return for a second season was confirmed. CTD's Jeff Probst was steady
at a 0.8. Twentieth's Ricki Lake remained at a 0.7, while NBCU's Trisha
Goddard
gave back 20% to a 0.4. 

CTD's Judge Judy led daytime where many shows were in
reruns for most or all of the holiday week. Her honor was up 14% from the prior
week to a 6.6. CTD's Judge Joe Brown, a distant second, improved 4% to a
2.4. Warner Bros.' People's Court added 5% to a 2.0. Warner Bros.' Judge
Mathis
and Twentieth's Judge Alex each were flat at a 1.6 and 1.4,
respectively. Twentieth's Divorce Court climbed 8% to a 1.4, tying Judge
Alex
. Entertainment Studios' America's Court, Justice for All and
We the People all were flat at a 0.8, 0.5 and 0.2, respectively.

Warner Bros.' The Big Bang Theory heated up 9% to a
7.4, topping the syndication leader board. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men was
up 6% to a 5.3. Twentieth's Family Guy and How I Met Your Mother were
flat at a 3.6 and 3.1, respectively. Twentieth's King of the Hill
declined 4% to a 2.2, tying SPT's Seinfeld and Warner Bros.' Friends,
both of which were flat at a 2.2, while CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond
dropped 13% to a 2.0.

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.