'Dr. Phil' Tops Talkers for Second Week in a Row

CBS Television Distribution's Dr. Phil remained daytime's top talker two weeks after the end of Oprah.

Phil's numbers grew even though the show went into a week of repeats in the week ending June 12, jumping 4% week to week to a 2.7 live plus same day ratings average in households. Dr. Phil also was one of two talk shows to be up from last year at this time, improving 17% year to year.

CTD's Oprah, closing out its 25-year run, recovered 9% to a 2.5. Disney-ABC's Live with Regis and Kelly was unchanged at a 2.4. NBCUniversal's Maury gained 10% to a 2.2. Sony's Dr. Oz tacked on 5% to a 2.1. Warner Bros.' Ellen fell to a new season low 1.6, after fading 11% for the week. CTD's The Doctors held steady at a 1.4. CTD's Rachael Ray, which went into a full week of repeats was off 7% to a new season low 1.3, tying NBCU's Jerry Springer, which also declined 7%, and NBCU's Steve Wilkos, which was flat. Debmar-Mercury's Wendy Williams, who was just seen playing a judge in a cameo in Lifetime's Drop Dead Diva, dropped 10% to a last place 0.9.

CTD's Judge Judy continued to reign over syndication. Judy grew 6% from the prior week and 53% from last year to a 6.9. Judy also jumped 15% among women 25-54 to a 3.1, matching the show's strongest demo rating of the season. CTD's Judge Joe Brown remained in second place, gaining 4% to a 2.6. Warner Bros.' People's Court was unchanged at a 1.8. Twentieth's Judge Alex added 13% to a 1.7. Twentieth's Divorce Court climbed 7% to a 1.6, while Warner's Judge Mathis and Warner's Judge Jeanine Pirro, which is ending its run, each were flat at a 1.5 and 0.8, respectively.

CTD's Swift Justice remained this season's highest-rated rookie, holding steady at a 1.6. Twentieth's Don't Forget the Lyrics, wrapping its run, tied Sony's Nate Berkus for second place at a 0.9, with Berkus up 13% and Lyrics slipping 10%. Litton's Judge Karen's Court and Entertainment Studios' America's Court with Judge Ross each were flat at a 0.7 and 0.3, respectively.

Game shows were mostly higher with CTD's Wheel of Fortune and CTD's Jeopardy! each coming off of new season lows in the prior session. Wheel of Fortune upticked 4% to a 5.9, and Jeopardy! inched up 2% to a 5.0. Debmar-Mercury's Family Feud was unchanged at a 2.3, tying Disney-ABC's Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which improved 5%. Twentieth's Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader, also wrapping its run, improved 10% to a 1.1.

The Anthony Weiner sex-Tweet scandal did not provide the magazines with an expected boost, and only CTD's category leader Entertainment Tonight improved versus the prior week, gaining 3% in households to a 3.5. CTD's Inside Edition, Warner Bros.' TMZ, NBCU's Access Hollywood, CTD's The Insider and Warner Bros.' Extra all were unchanged at a 2.8, 2.0, 1.8, 1.5, and 1.5, respectively.

Warner Bros.' Two and a Half Men continued to lead the off-net sitcoms but was flat at a 5.8. Twentieth's Family Guy lost 2% to a 4.4. Disney-ABC's My Wife and Kids increased 7% to a 3.2. Warner Bros.' George Lopez added 4% to a 2.8. CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond receded 4% to a 2.6. Sony's Seinfeld slid 4% to a 2.5. NBCU's The Office tumbled 11% to a 2.4. Twentieth's King of the Hill declined 4% to a 2.3, while Warner Bros.' Friends improved 6% to a 1.9.

Among the new off-net and off-cable strips, Twentieth's How I Met Your Mother softened 7% to a 2.7. Warner Bros.' The New Adventures of Old Christine also retreated 7% to a 1.3, while Debmar-Mercury's Meet the Browns strengthened 8% to a 1.3, tying Christine. The other three rookie off-nets - NBCU's off-Bravo Real Housewives and Warner Bros.' Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage - are not returning this fall.

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.