Syndication Ratings: As March Madness Concludes, Syndies Mostly Stable

Magazines and talk hold steady, while game and court decline

By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/23/2013 1:48:02 PM

March Madness -- otherwise known as the NCAA college basketball tournament -- finally came to an end in the week ending April 14 with top-ranked Louisville presiding over Michigan in the tourney's final game. The much-watched contest preempted syndies on CBS affiliates in many markets, representing stronger than usual competition for programs on non-CBS stations and overall affecting all of syndication. In addition, levels of people using television were down due to longer, sunnier days.

Shows that aired in access -- predominantly magazines and games -- were mostly flat or down, although all of the magazines managed to hold their own, while all of the games were down.

CBS Television Distribution's leader Entertainment Tonight was steady at a 3.5 live plus same day rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, while CTD's Inside Edition, NBCUniversal's Access Hollywood, and Warner Bros.' Extra all held firm at a 2.9, 1.7 and 1.5, respectively.

Three magazines managed to gain from the prior week: Warner Bros.' TMZ, which scored its highest ratings since the week of March 11, and gained 5% from the previous session to a 2.0; CTD's new omg! Insider, which had the biggest increase of any veteran access strip, improving 8% to a 1.4; and Twentieth's newcomer Dish Nation, which had syndication's largest gain, adding 10% to a 1.1. Dish Nation also hit a high in viewers, averaging 1.5 million for the week.

CTD's game leader, Wheel of Fortune, wobbled for the third week in a row, slipping 1% to a 6.8. CTD's Jeopardy! lost 3% from the prior week to a 6.0. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud faded 6% to a 4.5. Disney-ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire fell 4% to a 2.4. NBCU's rookie, Baggage, dropped 9% to a 1.0, equaling its series low.

In daytime, several talkers advanced. CTD's Dr. Phil widened its lead, gaining 4% from the prior week to a 2.9. Phil also led the race among daytime's key demographic of women 25-54 at a 1.7. In second place, Disney-ABC's Live! with Kelly and Michael declined for the first time in four weeks, dipping 4% to a 2.5. Warner Bros.' Ellen, in third place, gained for the third consecutive week, adding 4% to a 2.4. SPT's Dr. Oz was flat at a fourth place 2.3.

In fifth place, NBCU's Maury added 5% to a 2.2, its best showing since the week of March 18. Maury also led the genre in the women 18-49 and women 18-34 demographics, scoring a 1.4 in each demo.

CTD's Rachael Ray rallied 7% to a 1.5, clocking its strongest ratings in five weeks. NBCU's Steve Wilkos and Jerry Springer both remained at a 1.4. CTD's The Doctors slipped 7% to a 1.3, while Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams improved 9% to a 1.2.

The two veterans that will depart after this season -- Warner Bros.' Anderson Live and Debmar-Mercury's Jeremy Kyle -- were each flat at a 0.9 and 0.4, respectively.

The freshman talk class was relatively stable, although CTD's soon-to-depart Jeff Probst fell 14%, declining a tenth of a point to a 0.6 from a 0.7.

Disney-ABC's Katie was steady at a 1.7, but climbed 24% compared to the prior week to a 2.1 on April 8 when the show featured a reunion with the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, including Valerie Harper, who was recently diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. That's the show's highest single-day rating since Feb. 11.

NBCU's Steve Harvey, Twentieth's Ricki Lake and NBCU's Trisha Goddard all were unchanged at a 1.5, 0.6, and 0.5, respectively. Harvey, however, beat Katie among women 25-54 for the third time in four weeks at a 1.0, up 11% over the prior week, while Katie was flat at a 0.9 in the demo. The two shows tied in the demo in the prior week.

CTD's Judge Judy dipped 1% to a 6.7. In a distant second, CTD's Judge Joe Brown, which is leaving the bench, was flat at a 2.2. Warner Bros.' People's Court tumbled 16% to a 1.6, while Judge Mathis eroded 7% to a 1.4. Twentieth's Judge Alex was flat at a 1.3, tying Divorce Court, which added 8%. Entertainment Studios' America's Court, Justice for All, and We the People all were flat at a 0.7, 0.4 and 0.2, respectively.

Warner Bros.' The Big Bang Theory continued to prevail among the off-net sitcoms, adding 3% to a 7.3 to top all of syndication. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men sank 4% to a 4.5. Twentieth's Family Guy picked up 3% to a 3.6, while How I Met Your Mother was flat at a 2.4, tying King of the Hill, which added 4%. SPT's Seinfeld, recently renewed in most of the country through 2014, slid 5% to a 2.1, tying Warner Bros.' Friends, which was flat. CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond remained at a 1.9.