Syndication Ratings: On Cusp of Sweep, 'Crime Watch Daily' Remains Rookie Leader

All of the rookie strips saw household or demographic gains in the week ended Oct. 25, the last full week before the start of November sweeps.

Warner Bros.’ Crime Watch Daily regained 13% to climb back up to a 0.9, matching its series best and finishing first among the rookies for the sixth straight week. Disney-ABC’s FABLife added 14% to a 0.8, tying its series debut and best mark so far. NBCUniversal’s Crazy Talk was stable at a 0.6.

Among daytime’s key demographic of women 25-54, Crazy Talk gained 25% to a 0.5, tying a steady Crime Watch Daily for first place. FABLife advanced 33% in the demo to a 0.4.

CBS Television Distribution’s Dr. Phil led the talkers for the sixth week in a row, despite easing 3% to a 2.9.

Phil opened the November sweep on Oct. 29 with a 26% increase from the prior week with a 3.4 rating/9 share in the overnight household ratings with a show that outed secret recordings of former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, who has pled guilty on charges of pedophilia.

In second place, Disney-ABC’s Live with Kelly and Michael gave back 4% to a 2.7 for the week. Live’s popular Halloween episode on Friday, Oct. 30, scared up a 3.9/13, the show’s highest-rated telecast of the season so far and its second-highest-rated fright fest since 2006. Last year, the show’s highest-rated Halloween show, was one-tenth of a ratings point higher. Among women 25-54, Live led the talkers with a 1.4, followed by Dr. Phil at a 1.3. 

Back in households, Warner Bros.’ Ellen was flat at a third-place 2.3. NBCU’s Steve Harvey strengthened 6% to a six-week high 1.8, and jumped 13% in the demo to a 0.9. NBCU’s Maury rounded out the top five with a 6% advance to a 1.7. Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams was flat at a 1.6. CTD’s Rachael Ray rose 8% to a new season-high 1.4, tying NBCU’s Steve Wilkos, which also added 8%. NBCU’s Jerry Springer climbed 8% to a 1.3, tying SPT’s Dr. Oz, which held steady.

Warner Bros.’ The Real, renewed on the Fox stations through 2018, recovered 10% to a 1.1. CTD’s The Doctors and NBCU’s Meredith Vieira were unchanged at a 1.0 and a 0.9, respectively. However, Meredith perked up 25% among women 25-54 to a 0.5.

CTD’s Judge Judy remained at its season-high 6.9, and neared its 1,000th consecutive week as syndication’s top court show. Judy also topped all of syndication for the 18th straight week.

CTD’s Hot Bench, created by Judge Judy Sheindlin, held steady at its series-high 2.2 and surged 47% over last year at this time, the biggest year-to-year increase of any strip in syndication. In third place, Warner Bros.’ People’s Court slid 6% to a 1.6. Warner Bros.’ Judge Mathis, Twentieth’s Divorce Court, MGM’s Lauren Lake’s Paternity Court and Trifecta’s Judge Faith were all flat at a 1.4, 1.3, 1.2 and 0.9, respectively. 

The games continued to battle it out at the top, with CTD’s Wheel of Fortune leading the pack with a 6% gain to a 6.6. Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud followed closely with a 5% surge to a second-place 6.4, while CTD’s Jeopardy! stood pat at a 6.2.

Much further back, Disney-ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was unchanged at a 1.2 for the fourth straight week, down 33% from last year at this time, tying Debmar-Mercury’s sophomore Celebrity Name Game, which perked up 9% for the week and is steady compared to last year.

MGM’s viral video show RightThisMinute slumped 9% to a 1.0 and declined 38% from last year at this time after having been moved off of Fox owned stations in many top markets.

CTD’s Entertainment Tonight held steady at a 3.0, followed by CTD’s Inside Edition, which was flat at a 2.9. Warner Bros.’ TMZ tacked on 6% to a 1.8. NBCU’s Access Hollywood stood pat at a 1.7. Warner Bros.’ Extra improved 7% to a 1.5, tying its season high. CTD’s The Insider gained 9% to a new season-high 1.2, while Twentieth’s Dish Nation remained at a 0.9 for the seventh straight week. Trifecta’s OK! TV was flat at a 0.2.

Warner Bros.’ The Big Bang Theory slipped 2% to a 5.3. Twentieth’s Modern Family finished 10% higher at a 3.4. Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men stayed at a 2.6. Twentieth’s Family Guy was flat at a 2.2. Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly leaped 11% to a 2.0, tying SPT’s Seinfeld, which rebounded post-baseball on TBS to a new season high. Warner Bros.’ freshman 2 Broke Girls and Twentieth’s How I Met Your Mother were unchanged at a 1.9 and 1.8, respectively. Twentieth’s The Cleveland Show climbed 6% to a 1.7, while Twentieth’s King of the Hill rose 8% to a 1.4.

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.