As the May sweeps wrapped and summer swept in, syndicated shows slumped in the session ended June 3, the first full week following the survey period.
In fact, ratings for almost all programs were muted in the frame, which began with the Memorial Day holiday on May 28, and was peppered with preemptions from coverage of French Open tennis and Stanley Cup hockey.
CBS Television Stations’ top talker Dr. Phil aired reruns on all five days and dropped 13% week to week to a 2.8 live plus same day national household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, a 4% increase over last year. That gave the show the talk lead for the 91 straight week with two ties. Among daytime’s key demographic of women 25-54, i also led with a 1.1.
Disney-ABC’s Live with Kelly and Ryan held steady in second place at a 2.2, up 5% from last year at this time. Warner Bros. ‘ EllenDeGeneres declined 10% to a 1.9. NBCUniversal’s Maury and Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams both were unchanged at a 1.4 and 1.3, respectively. NBCU’s Steve, hosted by Steve Harvey, offered a full week of repeats and fell back 8% to a 1.2.
NBCU’s conflict talker Jerry Springer sprang forward 10% to a 1.1, tying CTD’s Rachael Ray, which was flat. Sony Pictures Television’s Dr. Oz fell back 9% to a 1.0 to return to series-low levels and tying NBCU’s unchanged Steve Wilkos.
Warner Bros.’ Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen held steady at a 0.9. For the sixth straight week, NBCU’s Harry, Warner Bros.’ TheReal and CTD’s The Doctors all tied at a 0.7.
The rookies also were mostly flat. CTD’s DailyMailTV held at a 1.0 for the ninth time in ten weeks and also remained at a 0.5 in the key demo. Twentieth’s Page Six TV published an unchanged 0.7 in households for the fourth straight week, with a 0.4 in the demo.
Entertainment Studios’ Funny You Should Ask was the exception, spiking 25% or one-tenth of a ratings point to a 0.5 among households and holding steady at a 0.2 among women 25-54.
Disney-ABC’s Pickler & Ben, produced by E. W. Scripps, posted a 0.3 in households for the 37 consecutive week, while logging a flat 0.1 in the demo.
CTD’s May sweeps winner, Judge Judy, aired encores for part of the week and dipped 4% to a 6.8. But that was still 10% ahead of last year and the highest household rating for any syndicated show for the 15 straight week.
CTD’s Hot Bench was in repeats all week but held steady at a 2.2, up 5% from last year and tying Live as daytime’s third-ranked show.
Warner Bros.’ People’s Court slid 6% to a 1.5. Warner Bros.’ JudgeMathis, Twentieth’s Divorce Court and Trifecta’s Judge Faith all were flat at a 1.1, 0.9 and 0.6, respectively.
The top three game shows all moved backwards. Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud fell 2% to a 6.2. CTD’s Jeopardy! declined 3% to a 5.6, tying stable-mate Wheel of Fortune, which dipped 2%. Disney-ABC’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire remained at a 1.6 for the tenth week in a row.
Disney-ABC’s viral video show RightThis Minute stayed at a 1.3, tying NBCU’s off-net true-crime strip Dateline, which also held.
Elsewhere, the entertainment magazines were steady or down slightly, after getting boosts from coverage of the royal wedding in the prior week.
CTD’s EntertainmentTonight decreased 6% to a 2.9, but still improved 7% from last year, tying CTD’s Inside Edition, which slipped 3%.
Warner Bros.’ TMZ, NBCU’s Access, Warner Bros.’ Extra and Trifecta’s Celebrity Page all were steady at a 1.3, 1.2, 1.1 and 0.3, respectively.
Off-net sitcoms mostly hugged the flat line with the notable exception of Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men, which sank 7% to a new all-time low 1.4. The show, now in its 11 season, also was off 33% from last year at this time.
The top three off-net sitcoms -- Warner Bros.’ The Big BangTheory, Twentieth’s Modern Family and Twentieth’s Last ManStanding -- all were unchanged at a 4.4, 2.1 and 2.1, respectively.
SPT’s newcomer, The Goldbergs, gained 7% to a 1.6, while Twentieth’s Family Guy, Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly and 2 Broke Girls, Twentieth’s The Cleveland Show and SPT’s Seinfeld all remained at a 1.4, 1.3, 1.1, 1.0 and 1.0, respectively.
Warner Bros.’ rookie Mom managed a 0.9 for a second straight week, while CTD’s The Game finished the week at a 0.4 for the 17 time in 18 weeks.
