Syndication Ratings: Lackluster Results for Week Ending May 13
By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/22/2007 11:23:00 AM
The second week of the May sweep was one to forget for the syndication world, which was plagued by lackluster ratings for the week ending May 13.
Numbers were not helped by the fact that People Using Television (PUT) levels were down a full million viewers from the previous week, with such drops not uncommon this time of year as the weather improves. However, year-over-year numbers were not much better.
In the talk show world, the top shows were all down year-over-year, with the numbers not much better when compared to the previous week.
Oprah
was off 2% on the week to a 6.2, though Dr. Phil crept up 4% to a 5.2. Live with Regis & Kelly inched up 3% to a 3.2, while Ellen fell 4% to a 2.2, Maury dropped 9% to a 2.0, and rookie Rachael Ray was flat at a 2.0.
The court genre continued to struggle, with the top five shows all off or flat year-over-year, and only one seeing week-over-week gains.
Judge Judy
was down 2% on the week to a 4.4, Judge Joe Brown was even at a 2.7, People’s Court was down 4% to a 2.4, Judge Mathis was the sole gainer (up 5% to a 2.3) and Divorce Court was even at a 1.4.
All four game shows were off both on the week and the year. Wheel of Fortune was off 1% on the week to a 7.2, Jeopardy! was down 2% to a 5.6, Who wants to be a Millionaire fell 3% to a 3.0 and Family Feud sank 11% to a 1.6.
Four of the five magazine shows were flat on the week, with Entertainment Tonight (5.1), Access Hollywood (2.6), The Insider (2.5) and Extra (2.0) all even. Inside Edition was off 6% on the week at a 3.3.
However, Access Hollywood (up 4%) and Entertainment Tonight were the only two first-run strips in any category to see year-over-year gains.
In the off-net world, Seinfeld was up 8% on the week to a 4.3, giving Everybody Loves Raymond (off 4% to a 4.4) and unusually-close race for the top spot in the sitcom world. Like most of the aging comedies, both Seinfeld (down 16%) and Raymond (down 23%) continued to see plunging ratings year-over-year.
