Superstorm Sandy Shuts Down Syndie Ratings

No national ratings to be available for week ended Nov. 4

By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/12/2012 2:05:03 PM

Superstorm Sandy not only destroyed neighborhoods and shut the power off for weeks across the Eastern Seaboard, it also decimated ratings for syndicated TV shows.

Ratings for every nationally cleared show are being broken out for the week of Monday, Oct. 29, through Saturday, Nov. 3, according to a memo Nielsen Media Research sent out to clients last week. Nielsen "breaks out" the week's ratings for a syndicated show when it airs in less than 90% of the country.

That means no show with a national clearance -- which is every syndicated show from Judge Judy to Jeremy Kyle -- will report a national rating for the week ending Nov. 4.Ratings for shows cleared only in metered markets, such as NBCUniversal's Access Hollywood Live or Warner Bros.' Let's Ask America, will report ratings because those shows are not cleared nationally and do not have a national number.