Program Partners Bringing Back Merv Griffin's Crosswords

Game Show Returns for Second Season; Renewed in 40 of Top 50 Markets

By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/28/2008 12:37:00 PM

Program Partners will bring Merv Griffin's Crosswords back for season two, with the company securing renewals in 40 of the top 50 markets.

Those markets include WNBC in New York, as well as stations from the NBC, Belo, Four Points Media Group, Gannett, Gray Television, Guardian Television Network, Hubbard Broadcasting, McGraw-Hill, New Age Media, Raycom Media, Sarkes Tarzian and Sagamorehill Broadcasting station groups.

Over the past 14 weeks, the show is averaging a 0.9 rating/2 share in the metered markets, down 18% from both its lead-in and January year-ago time period averages. In New York -- the top market and a pivotal one for the show -- Crosswords is averaging a 0.7/2, down 50% from its Judge Joe Brown lead-in and off 65% from what Warner Bros.' Ellen DeGeneres was doing in the time period last year.

Nationally, the show is averaging a 0.8 live-plus-same-day household rating, making it the fifth-ranked of this year's seven new shows.

Crosswords is a half-hour game show hosted by Ty Treadway and developed by Merv Griffin himself.