Syndication Ratings: Olympics Takes Ratings Toll for a Second Week

Magazines remain syndie's strongest genre against fierce competition

By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/21/2012 5:24:26 PM

Magazines continued to be the only syndie genre to really enjoy the Summer Olympic Games in London, with most shows experiencing extreme preemptions or falling to season lows in the wake of fierce competition.

In the week ended Aug. 12, the Games' second full week, CBS Television Distribution's Entertainment Tonight inched up 3% to a 3.2 live plus same day household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. CTD's Inside Edition rebounded 4% to a 2.8. NBCUniversal's Access Hollywood, coming off of its strongest showing in nearly five years, gave back 15% to a 2.3, still its second-highest rating of the season and up 44% from the same week last year. Many of the magazines took a page from the Olympics' own book, covering the athletes in the Olympics spotlight, such as Gabby Douglas, Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin.

On the other hand, Warner Bros.' TMZ lost ground for the second straight week, sinking 6% to a 1.7. CTD's The Insider was steady at a 1.3. Warner Bros.' Extra was again broken out of the ratings by Nielsen for the week due to Olympic preemptions in many markets.

Elsewhere, most daytime shows remained at sub-par levels. Sony's Dr. Oz tied NBCU's conflict talker Maury for the top spot among chat shows, although Oz fell to a new season low 2.1, after being broken out all week in the prior frame. Maury remained at its lowest rating since April. CTD's usual leader Dr. Phil, this week's sole non-magazine gainer, improved 5% to a third-place 2.0, despite being very heavily preempted. In fact, the show was as close as it could come to having its ratings broken out without actually being broken out.

Disney-ABC's Live! with Kelly, (soon to be Live! with Kelly and Michael), NBCU's Jerry Springer and Steve Wilkos and Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams all were flat for the week at a 1.7, 1.3, 1.2, and 0.8, respectively. All of the other talk shows - Warner Bros.' Ellen and Anderson, CTD's Rachael Ray and The Doctors - had their ratings broken out all week.

Among the rated rookies, Debmar-Mercury's Jeremy Kyle was flat at a 0.5, while CTD's late-night dating show, Excused, held firm at a 0.6.

On the court show front, CTD's Judge Judy was steady at a 5.7, which was the best rating for any show in first-run syndication. CTD's Judge Joe Brown fell 8% to a new season low 2.2. Warner Bros.' People's Court and Judge Mathis and Twentieth's Judge Alex all were unchanged at a 1.8, 1.4 and 1.3, respectively. Twentieth's Divorce Court lost 8% to a 1.2, while ES' America's Court dropped 11% to a 0.8.

Game shows also found the going rough. CTD's leader Wheel of Fortune weakened 4% to a 5.2, landing at a new season low for the second week in a row. CTD's Jeopardy! also dipped 4% to a second consecutive new season low 4.3. Family Feud faltered 4% to a 2.7, while Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire made it two straight weeks of new lows, losing 5% to a 1.8.

Meanwhile, most of the off-net sitcoms gained ground. Warner Bros.' Big Bang Theory remained on top of syndication, advancing 5% to a 6.2. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men upticked 2% to a 4.8. Twentieth's Family Guy grew 3% to a 3.9. Twentieth's How I Met Your Mother climbed 8% to a 2.6. Twentieth's King of the Hill dropped 4% to a 2.2, tying Sony's Seinfeld, which improved 10% to a 2.2. CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond rebounded 11% to a 2.0. Warner Bros.' Friends was flat at a 1.8.