Syndication Ratings: Syndies Rally to Start November
Talk shows receive biggest ratings boost
By David Tanklefsky -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/10/2009 1:26:19 PM
The majority of syndicated shows rallied in the week ending Nov. 1, a week that included the first two week days of the November sweep. In fact, in a rarity, none of the first-run daytime strips declined week-to-week.
Talkers made the most Nielsen noise, with five of the top eight veteran strips scoring new season highs. CBS Television Distribution's (CTD) Dr. Phil, which was just renewed through 2014, hit his highest ratings since May, jumping 7% in households from the week before to a 3.0 and 21% in women 25-54. Disney/ABC's Live With Regis and Kelly also notched a new high, gaining 8% to a 2.7. Warner Bros.' Ellen grabbed her best marks of the season with a 15% leap to 2.3. CTD's Rachael Ray rose 12% to 1.9, her biggest number in 39 weeks. NBCU's Jerry Springer logged a new season-high 1.3, up 8%. Other gabfests moving up, though not eclipsing their highest levels of the season, included leader CTD's Oprah, which inched ahead 2% to 5.2; CTD's The Doctors, which climbed 5% to 2.1, surging 40% from last year, the largest year-to-year increase of any syndicated series; and NBCU's Maury, which advanced 6% to 1.9.
Steve Wilkos (NBCU), Bonnie Hunt (Warner Bros.') and Martha Stewart (NBCU) held steady at 1.1, 0.9, and 0.6 respectively.
Elsewhere, top court Judge Judy (CTD) hit a new season-high with a 10% improvement to 4.5, her best rating in 33 weeks. CTD's Judge Joe Brown gained 5% to 2.2. Warner Bros.' People's Court added 5% to a new season-high 2.0. Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis, Twentieth's Judge Alex and Twentieth's Divorce Court were all flat at 1.5, 1.4, and 1.4 respectively. Warner Bros.' Judge Jeanine Pirro continued to trail the field with an unchanged 1.0.
Among rookies, NBCU's The Office led all newcomers to syndication for a 6th straight week, growing 4% to a 2.9. Fellow off-net CTD's Everybody Hates Chris was flat at 1.8. Twentieth's My Name is Earl sank 11% to a new season-low 1.6. Disney/ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos was unchanged at 0.7. Trifecta's Cold Case Files was far back after sliding 25% to a 0.3.
In first-run, Sony's Dr. Oz got a 4% bump to a new season-high 2.7 and was miles ahead of his competition. Twentieth's Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader rebounded 7% to 1.6. Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams was flat at 1.2. Litton's Street Court recovered 20% to 0.6, after a steep decline in the prior session.
Among magazines, CTD's Entertainment Tonight snared a new season mark with a 7% increase to 4.6, its highest rating in 35 weeks, after seeing a 16% surge to a 5.0 for its extended coverage of the Ivanka Trump wedding on Oct. 27. CTD's Inside Edition was flat at 3.1. NBCU's Access Hollywood was up 11% to 2.1. Warner Bros.' TMZ rebounded 12% to 1.9. CTD's The Insider held steady at 1.8 and tied with Warner Bros.' Extra, which was up 6%.
Game shows did little except for Disney/ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, which managed a 4% increase to a 2.5. Leader, CTD's Wheel of Fortune declined 4% to 6.8, while CTD's Jeopardy, NBCU's Deal Or No Deal and Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud were all flat at 5.8, 1.2 and 1.2 respectively.
Among off-net sitcoms, Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men had its ratings reprocessed for a third week. Twentieth's Family Guy was up 10% to 3.3. Warner Bros.' George Lopez was flat at 2.6. Sony's Seinfeld was up 8% to 2.6. CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond gained 4% to 2.5. Warner Bros.' Friends was up 5% to 2.1, tying Twentieth's King of the Hill, which was unchanged. House of Payne jumped 23% to 1.6, landing in a tie with Sony's King of Queens, which was up 7%.
