Viewers turned off their TVs and headed off to celebrate the
long July 4 weekend if the depressed syndie ratings were any indication in the
week ended July 7. Most shows were down for the week, with several access
magazines dropping to season lows after seeing boosts in the previous week for
their coverage of the Paula Deen racism scandal.
CBS Television Distribution's Entertainment Tonight
dropped 12% to a new season-low 3.0 live plus same day national household
rating, according to Nielsen Media Research. Similarly, CTD's Inside Edition
sank 7% to a new season-low 2.5. Warner Bros.' TMZ yielded 11% to a 1.7.
NBCUniversal's Access Hollywood gave back 18% to a 1.4. CTD's omg!
Insider, which had the biggest increase among the vets in the prior week,
fell 14% to a new season-low 1.2, tying Warner Bros.' Extra, which eased
8% to a new season-low 1.2. Twentieth's newcomer Dish Nation dropped 10%
to a 0.9.
Talk shows that remained in originals for the week saw a benefit.
Disney/ABC's Live! with Kelly and Michael, usually in
originals due to its format, added 4% for the week and 9% for the year, and
rose to the top of the talk list with a 2.5.
CTD's Dr. Phil, the usual talk leader, slipped 12%
with a week of repeats to a second-place 2.2, a new season low. NBCU's Maury,
which usually shines in the summer, fell off 9% to 2.0 but third place overall.
Sony Pictures Television's Dr. Oz, mostly in reruns, dipped 5% to a 1.9.
An encore week of Warner Bros.' Ellen dropped 6% to a new season-low
1.7.
Conversely, CTD's Rachael Ray, in originals, rallied
17% to a 1.4, the show's highest rating in seven weeks. Debmar-Mercury's Wendy
Williams, also in originals three of the five days, tied Rachael,
jumping 17% to a 1.4 and also hitting a series high among daytime's key
demographic of women 25-54 with a 1.1.
NBCU's Steve Wilkos and Jerry Springer both
were unchanged at a 1.3. CTD's The Doctors gained 9% to a 1.2.
Meredith's The Better Show was flat at a 0.1.
Disney/ABC's Katie widened its rookie household lead,
advancing 6% to a 1.7 and scoring that show's highest rating in two months,
despite airing mostly reruns. NBCU's Steve Harvey, in repeats, was flat
at a 1.2. NBCU's Trisha also was steady at a 0.5.
In the metered markets, Warner Bros.' The Real, in
its third day of a four-week test on six owned Fox stations, grew 11% to a 1.0
rating/3 share from day two. Twentieth's Kris, in its third day of a
six-week test on six owned Fox stations, declined 20% to a 0.8/3.
Compared to year-ago time period averages, day three of The
Real climbed 25% in households, while day three of Kris dropped 27%.
Among women 25-54, The Real at a 0.8/6 improved 60% from year-ago time
periods on Wednesday, while Kris was flat at a 0.7/5. Among women 18-49,
The Real at a 0.8/6 also was up 60%, while Kris fell 33% in that
demo to a 0.4/3.
Back in the national ratings, CTD's Judge Judy was
syndication's top show at a 6.0, dipping 5% from the prior week. This marks the
10th consecutive week that Judy has led all of first-run syndication.
Warner Bros.' People's Court, the second-ranked court
show, lost 11% to a 1.6. Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis was even at a 1.3.
Twentieth's Judge Alex slid 8% to a 1.2, tying Twentieth's Divorce
Court, which was flat. Entertainment Studios' America's Court, Justice
for All and We the People all were unchanged at a 0.6, 0.4 and 0.2,
respectively.
Game shows were mixed. CTD's Wheel of Fortune hit a
new season low for the fifth time in the last eight week, skidding 5% to a 5.5.
CTD's Jeopardy! also declined 5% to a new season-low 5.2.
Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud also fell 5% to a 4.2, but beat Wheel and
Jeopardy! among women 25-54 for the sixth consecutive week with a 2.0.
Disney/ABC's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire bucked the trend, rising 5%
to a 2.3, while NBCU's Baggage arrived with a 10% increase to a 1.1.
Warner Bros.' The Big Bang Theory cooled
off 12% to a 5.8. Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men faded 5% to a new
season-low 4.1. Twentieth's Family Guy gained 3% to a 3.2. Twentieth's How
I Met Your Mother weakened 4% to a 2.4. Twentieth's King of the Hill declined
9% to a 2.1. Warner Bros.' Friends faded 5% to a 2.0, tying SPT's Seinfeld,
which was flat. CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond remained at a 1.7.
