Can The Doctors Give Syndication a Shot in the Arm?
CBS' The Doctors turned in strongest syndicated launch since Rachael Ray . But will it grow?
By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/16/2008 5:27:00 AM
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STATIONS' OPEN OPTION
Can The Doctorsgive syndication a shot in the arm? CBS is hoping so after the new talk show on all-things-medical premiered last Monday to a 1.6 household rating/4 share in the weighted metered markets, according to Nielsen Media Research.
After two days, it averaged a 1.5/4, off 12% from its lead-in and 17% from its year-ago time period average.
While the show turned in the strongest launch since CBS' Rachael Ray opened in 2006 with a 2.8/9, The Doctors -- cleared on strong time periods on the CBS stations in top markets -- will need to see strong growth if it's going to turn into the next big syndication hit.
“It's not where we plan on settling, but it's a great running start,” executive producer Jay McGraw said.
The second-highest-rated syndie launch so far this season came from NBC Universal's Deal or No Deal, which premiered with a 1.3/3 two-day average, down 7% from both its lead-in and year-ago time-period average.
“Deal or No Deal got off to a very strong start, improving time periods from coast to coast, including seven of the top 10 markets,” said Barry Wallach, president of NBCU Domestic Television. “It also retained almost all of its lead-in.”
In third place was Warner Bros.' The Bonnie Hunt Show, which averaged a 1.0/3 over its first two days, down 29% from its lead-in and 9% from its September 2007 time-period average.
“I think it did exactly what we expected it to do,” said Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. “We generally expect to be down a little bit at launch. Over time, we expect to eventually grow.”
Finally, the two new court shows each averaged a 0.9/3 over the two days. Program Partners' Family Court with Judge Pennywas up 13% versus both its lead-in and year-ago time-period average, while Sony's Judge Karen was down 11% from both its lead-in and year-ago time-period averages.
Several rookies are still scheduled to debut: Debmar-Mercury's Trivial Pursuit: America Plays and Tyler Perry's House of Payne open Sept. 22, while Litton Entertainment's Storm Stories premieres Sept. 29.
STATIONS' OPEN OPTION
Viewers across the country got a surprise Sept. 8, when they expected to see the season premiere of Oprah, Judge Judy, or their local news and found themselves watching the men's finals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament. Not all viewers liked the decision.
CBS was forced to reschedule the live final, ultimately won by Roger Federer, after the semifinal between Spain's Rafael Nadal and Scotsman Andy Murray was rained out Sept. 6.
“We encouraged our affiliates to air the match live, but in the end, the decision was theirs,” a CBS spokeswoman said.
The decision proved to be a toss-up for stations: Airing tennis excluded viewers who wanted to see the season premiere of Oprah, which featured 100 Olympic Games athletes, including Michael Phelps and Kobe Bryant. Other late-afternoon shows such as CBS' Judge Judy and early evening local newscasts were also heavily pre-empted.
Overall, some 90% of CBS affiliates opted to air the tennis match, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, often moving it to a sister station, digital channel or online.
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