Syndication Ratings: Magazine Shows Get Golden Globes Bump

Awards coverage pushes most mags to season-high levels

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/30/2013 12:46:21 PM

Syndicated magazine shows rallied, thanks in large part to the coverage of the Golden Globe awards, in the week ended Jan. 20.

Most of the mags, which have been on a ratings roll recently, landed at or near season-high levels.

CBS Television Distribution's leader Entertainment Tonight grew 3% to a 3.9 while its Inside Edition was also up 3% to a 3.3. Warner Bros.' TMZ scored an 11% advance to a new season-high 2.1. NBCU's Access Hollywood raced ahead 6% to a 1.9. Warner Bros.' Extra jumped 6% from the previous week and 31% in three weeks to a new season-high 1.7. CTD's rebranded omg! Insider dipped 7% to a 1.4, after being preempted five times in the top 30 markets alone, although its companion omg! Insider Weekend surged 25% to a 1.0. Rounding out the field, Twentieth's newcomer Dish Nation added 11% to a 1.0.

Talk shows were solid, even though some programs were interrupted by government news conferences on Jan. 14 and 16. CTD's Dr. Phil was the No. 1 talker -- as usual -- leading the category for the 15th week this season, with a steady 3.2. In second, Warner Bros.' Ellen improved 4% to a 2.8 and scored a 12% year-to-year increase. Disney/ABC's Live! with Kelly and Michael was also quite strong, climbing 4% to a 2.7. In fourth place, Sony Pictures Television's Dr. Oz was flat at a 2.6.

NBCU's Maury rose 9% to a 2.5 while its Steve Wilkos spurted 7% to a 1.6 and tied its series-high. CTD's Rachel Ray, The Doctor's and NBCU's Jerry Springer all held firm at 1.5, 1.4 and 1.5, respectively. Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams went up 8% to a new season-high 1.4. Warner Bros' Anderson Live! was steady at a 1.2 and Debmar's Jeremy Kyle was last at an unchanged 0.6.

The rookie talkers were led by Disney/ABC's Katie, which gave back 5% to a 1.9, though the show clocked its biggest audience ever last week for an exclusive interview with Manti Te'o, the Notre Dame football star at the center of a widely reported Internet hoax. National ratings for the interview will be available next week. NBCU's Steve Harvey and CTD's Jeff Probst held firm at 1.6 and 0.8, respectively. Twentieth's Ricki Lake dropped 13% to a 0.7, while NBCU's Trisha Goddard surged 20% to a series-high 0.6 and was renewed for a second year.

Among game shows, CTD's Wheel of Fortune spun a new season-high 7.7, edging up 1%. CTD's Jeopardy was flat at a 6.8, Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud faded 6% to a 5.1. Disney/ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and NBCU's rookie Baggage were unchanged at 2.4 and 1.2, respectively.

CTD's Judge Judy dominated the court shows, leading the category by nearly 5 full ratings points. Judy was up 1% from the week before to a 7.4 and was the highest-rated show in daytime. CTD's Judge Joe Brown; Warner Bros' People's Court and Judge Mathis; and Twentieth's Judge Alex were all flat at 2.5, 1.9, 1.5 and 1.4, respectively. Twentieth's Divorce Court climbed 8% to a 1.4. Entertainment Studios' America's Court, freshman Justice for All and We the People were unchanged at 0.8, 0.4 and 0.2, respectively.

In off-net syndication, Warner Bros' The Big Bang Theory tacked on 4% from the prior session to a new series-high 7.9 and topped the syndie leader board. Warner Bros' Two and a Half Men was flat at a 5.5. Twentieth's Family Guy grew 5% to a new-season-high 4.1, while How I Met Your Mother added 3% to a 3.0. Sony's Seinfeld advanced 4% to a 2.5 and Twentieth's King of the Hill declined 4% to a 2.3. Warner Bros' Friends was flat at a 2.1, tying CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond, which perked up 5%.