Syndication Ratings: Shows Rally as World Cup Concludes

Syndies rallied as the 2018 FIFA World Cup receded as the global soccer tourney went into semi-final and final matches in the week ended July 18.

That said, some shows still were hurt by preemptions as a result of coverage of President Donald J. Trump’s July 13 press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Even so, four of the top five talk shows improved from the prior week.

Related: World Cup Rolls Over Syndies for Fourth Straight Week

CBS Television Distribution’s Dr. Phil, which aired repeats all week, still topped the talkers for the 97th straight week with two ties, growing 8% to a 2.8 live plus same day national household rating, according Nielsen Media Research. In addition, Phil was the only talker out of 14 veterans to improve upon last year, adding 4%. Phil also led among women 25-54 with a 1.1 in daytime’s key demographic.

Back in households, Disney-ABC’s Live with Kelly and Ryan was heavily preempted as a result of the Trump/May presser, and as a result Live gave back 5% to a 2.0, following a double-digit percentage jump in the prior week. Warner Bros.’ The Ellen DeGeneres Show delivered a 7% increase to a 1.6. NBCUniversal’s Maury moved up 8% to a 1.3. NBCU’s Steve, which aired encore episodes for part of the week, spiked 9% to a 1.2.

Outside of the top five, Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams was unchanged at a 1.1, CTD’s Rachael Ray remained at a 1.0, tying NBCU’s conflict talkers Jerry Springer, which is out of production, and SteveWilkos, both of which were flat for the week at a 1.0 and down 23% from last year.

Sony Pictures Television’s Dr. Oz remained at its all-time low for a fifth straight week, down 18% from last year. Warner Bros.’ Crime Watch Daily with Chris Hansen, which will end its run after this season, stayed at a 0.8. CTD’s The Doctors recovered 17% to a 0.7 after hitting a new series low in the prior week. Warner Bros.’ The Real remained at a 0.6, tying NBCU’s canceled Harry, which held steady.

CTD’s rookie leader Daily Mail TV registered an 11% increase to a 1.0 and held steady at a 0.5 among women 25-54.

Twentieth’s fellow newcomer, Page Six TV, revealed its fifth straight season-low 0.6 and was unchanged at a 0.3 in the demo.

Entertainment Studios’ Funny You Should Ask climbed 25% to a 0.5 and remained at a 0.2 among women 25-54. Ratings for Disney-ABC’s Pickler & Ben, produced by E. W. Scripps, were reprocessed and not available for the third straight week.

Week one of a four-week tryout for Warner Bros.’ viral video clip show The Hustle averaged a 0.5 rating/1 share on Fox owned stations in eight mostly large metered markets, tumbling 44% from its lead-in and slipping 17% from year-ago time periods. Among women 25-54, TheHustle slid 25% from both lead-ins and year ago to a 0.3/2. 

CTD’s JudgeJudy strengthened 3% to a 6.2 to lead the court shows as the genre’s sole gainer, despite being in reruns for the week. Judy tied Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud for the overall syndication lead.

CTD’s Hot Bench, which was in repeats on three of the five days, slipped 5% to a 1.9.

Warner Bros.’ People’s Court and Judge Mathis both were flat at a 1.3 and 1.0, respectively. Twentieth’s Divorce Court dropped 13% to a new series-low 0.7. Trifecta’s Judge Faith, which is out of production and airing only repeats, was flat at a 0.6.

All of the game shows were up by single digits after they all declined in the prior round. Leader Family Feud inched up 2% to a Judge Judy-tying 6.2. CTD’s Jeopardy! jumped 6% to a 5.6. CTD’s Wheel of Fortune edged ahead 2% to a 5.4. Disney-ABC’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire picked up 7% to a 1.6.

Disney-ABC’s viral video show RightThisMinute remained at its season-low 1.3 for a fourth straight week while NBCU’s off-net true-crime strip Dateline stayed at a 1.2.

CTD’s Inside Edition added 4% to a 2.7 to lead magazines, just beating out sibling Entertainment Tonight, which held steady at a 2.6. The two shows had been tied for the three prior weeks.

Warner Bros.’ TMZ rebounded 20% from a series low set in the previous frame to a 1.2. NBCU’s Access and Warner Bros.’ Extra both held firm and remained tied at a 1.0. Further back, Trifecta’s Celebrity Page lost 33% to fall to a 0.2 from a 0.3.

Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory spiked 10% to a 4.4 to lead the off-net sitcoms after hitting a season low in the previous orbit. Twentieth’s Last Man Standing stayed at a 2.0 to tie Twentieth’s Modern Family, which recovered 5% from a series low set the prior week. SPT’s rookie The Goldbergs grew 7% to a 1.6. Twentieth’s FamilyGuy retreated 6% to a 1.5. Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men remained at a 1.4. Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly moved at 8% to a 1.3. Warner Bros.’ 2 Broke Girls stayed at a 1.1. Twentieth’s How I Met Your Mother and The Cleveland Show and SPT’s Seinfeld all held steady at a 1.0.

Further back, Warner Bros.’ Mom added 13% to a 0.9 while CTD’s fellow rookie The Game clocked an unchanged 0.4. 

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.