Oscars Bring Ratings Gold to Syndie Mags

'ET' ties best single-day rating in two years

By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/26/2013 5:24:57 PM

Syndie magazine shows won their traditional ratings boosts for their star-studded coverage of the 85th annual Academy Awards on Monday, Feb. 25. 

Most of the magazines' ratings were on par with the same telecast last year, which fell on Feb. 27, 2012, but up significantly compared to their February 2012 ratings averages. (Ratings averages for February 2013 are still in progress.)

CBS Television Distribution's magazine leader, Entertainment Tonight, came in first with a 5.2 rating/9 share in the 56 metered markets, even with last year's rating and up a share point from last year, when ET earned a 5.2/8. However, compared to the show's February 2012 average, ET's day-after Oscar show was up 24%, demonstrating that magazine viewers tend to tune in to see Oscar coverage. Moreover, ET's 5.2/9 matched the show's highest single-day rating and scored its best share in two years.

In second place, CTD's Inside Edition earned a 3.6/8, exactly even with last year. However, Inside Edition was up 20% compared to February 2012.

NBCUniversal's Access Hollywood came in third with a 2.6/5, down 7% from last year's show, which scored a 2.8/6. Compared to last year, however, Access Hollywood was up 24% from its 2.1/5 February 2012 average.

Warner Bros.' Extra came in fourth at a 2.3/5, down 8% from last year, when the show scored a 2.5/5, but up 21% from last February, when the show averaged a 1.9/4.

CTD's recently rebranded omg! Insider, covering its first Oscars in its new format, averaged a 2.1/4. That's down 5% from The Insider's 2.2/5 performance last year, but up 17% from Feb. 2012, when it averaged a 1.8/4.

Warner Bros.' TMZ, which doesn't cover the Oscars (or Hollywood in general) like the more traditional magazines, came in last among the vets with a 2.0/4, but improved 11% from last year's 1.8/5, and gained 33% compared to the 1.5/4 it earned in February 2012.

Twentieth's rookie, Dish Nation, averaged a 1.0/2 for its first post-Oscar show, down 9% compared to its year-ago time period averages of 1.1/3.