Syndie Insider

Ellen DeGeneres is the success story of this syndie season, so it's no surprise her rookie show was named Outstanding Talk Show at the Daytime Emmy Awards. Warner Bros.' The Ellen DeGeneres Show took home four Emmy awards, having earned 12 nominations, the most of any show.

Wayne Brady, host of Buena Vista's The Wayne Brady Show, proved his win last year wasn't a fluke; he was named Outstanding Host, even though his show will not return next season.

King World's Martha Stewart Living, also a no-show next season, walked off with two awards, including Outstanding Service Show.

Overall, syndication won 10 Daytime Emmys, second only to CBS and its powerhouse soaps in total awards. Other syndie winners included Buena Vista's Live With Regis and Kelly and Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.

It's a clean sweep for King World, leading the pack with syndication's top four shows in the week ended May 16, which included the second week of May sweeps. Game show Wheel of Fortune remained No. 1, but The Oprah Winfrey Show beat out Jeopardy for second place. And Dr. Phil broke into the top five for the first time, beating even syndie stalwarts Sony's Seinfeld and Warner Bros.' Friends.

Dr. Phil's 5.9 rating matched its all-time high, and the show hit a 6 or better on three of the five days. It was also the best week the show has ever had among women 18-34 and women 18-49, with increases of 17% to 3.4 and 16% to 3.7, respectively. In households, the show surged 9% from the prior week and grew 16% over last year, the largest year-to-year improvement of any talker save Oprah's 19% gain.

Twentieth's On-Air With Ryan Seacrest also had a hot week, jumping 18% to a series-high 1.3, giving the show a firm hold on second place among first-run rookies.