With the results of the November sweep in, only a few syndies -- including Oprah, Two and a Half Men, Jerry Springer, Steve Wilkos and Family Feud -- managed to
improve over last year.
Syndie ratings suffered during the sweep, which ran Oct. 28
through Nov. 24, due to Fox's retransmission consent dispute with Cablevision
in the number-one market, New York, impacting at least the sweep's first week. Preemptions
for political programming leading into the mid-term elections also affected
ratings.
In its last November sweep, CBS Television Distribution's talk
leader Oprah grew 4% from last year to
a 5.6 household average, according to Nielsen Media Research. In
second place for the 25th sweep in a row, CTD's Dr. Phil eased 3% to a 3.0. In the last week of the sweep, Phil accelerated toa season high 3.1 live plus same day national household average.
Disney-ABC's Live with
Regis and Kelly fell 7% to a 2.5 household average for the sweep. Sony's
sophomore Dr. Oz dropped 8% to a 2.4.
Warner Bros.' Ellen DeGeneres lost 4%
to a 2.3. NBC Universal's Maury was
flat at a 2.0. CTD's The Doctors, in
its third season, was off 10% to a 1.8. CTD's Rachael Ray slipped 11% to a 1.6. NBCU's Jerry Springer and Steve
Wilkos both bucked the trend, with each show gaining 17% for the year to
tie at a 1.4. Debmar-Mercury's Wendy
Williams continued to trail the field at a 1.1, fading 8% from last year.
Among the rookie first-run strips, CTD's Swift Justice with Nancy Grace remained the
highest rated freshman for the 11th consecutive week, winning the
November sweep with a 1.3. Sony's Nate
Berkus came in second at a 1.0. In third, Twentieth's Don't Forget the Lyrics earned a 0.9. Litton's Judge Karen's Court posted a 0.6. Entertainment Studios' America's Court with Judge Ross came in
last at a 0.4.
Twentieth's How I Met
Your Mother led the new off-net and off-cable strips at a 2.3, followed by Debmar-Mercury's
Meet the Browns at a 1.4. Warner Bros.' New Adventures of Old Christine followed
close behind at a 1.3. Disney-ABC's one-hour strip, Ugly Betty, came in fourth at a 0.9. Debmar-Mercury's E! True Hollywood Story and Warner Bros.'
Entourage and Curb Your Enthusiasm all tied at a 0.7. NBCU's off-Bravo Real Housewives remained in last place at
a 0.5.
Magazine leader Entertainment
Tonight dropped 9% from last November to a 4.2, although it remained atop the
category for its 81st straight sweep.
Only CTD's The Insider,
flat at a 1.8, managed to escape the downward trend among magazines, with even
its weekend version, Insider Weekend,
improving 18% over last year to a 1.3. In second place, CTD's Inside Edition fell 9% to a 2.9. NBCU's Access Hollywood declined 10% to a third
place 1.9, while its spin-off, Access
Hollywood Live, spiked 25% over its November 2009 time-period average in 13
metered markets, averaging a 1.0/3. The slow roll-out also was up 75% compared
to last year among women 25-54 at a 0.7/5.
Warner Bros.' TMZ
declined 5% to a 1.8 November sweep average, while Warner Bros.' Extra dipped 6% to a 1.7, although Extra Weekend continued to improve over
last year, improving 30% to a 1.3.
CTD's Judge Judy
remained the nation's top court, despite giving back 4% over last year to a
4.4. CTD's Judge Joe Brown was the second
highest rated gaveler with a 2.0, down 5%. Warner Bros.' People's Court also fell 5% to a third place 1.9. Warner Bros.' Judge Mathis was unchanged at a 1.6. Twentieth's
Judge Alex skidded 13% to a 1.3 to
tie Twentieth's Divorce Court, down
7% to a 1.3. Warner Bros.' Judge Jeanine
Pirro was last at a 0.9, off 10% from Nov. 2009.
CTD's Wheel of Fortune
continued to lead the game shows by a wide margin, dipping just 1% to a 7.2. CTD's
Jeopardy! was down 5% to a 5.8. Disney-ABC's
Who Wants to be a Millionaire lost
15% to a 2.2. Debmar-Mercury's Family
Feud is continuing to rise with new host Steve Harvey, gaining 23% to a 1.6.
Twentieth's Are You Smarter than a Fifth
Grader sank 41% to a 1.0.
Warner Bros.' Two and
a Half Men led the veteran off-net sitcoms with a 5.7, up 12% from last
year after launching its cable run on FX. Twentieth's Family Guy slid 9% to a 3.2. CTD's Everybody Loves Raymond rose 8% to a 2.8. Disney-ABC's My Wife and Kids, which began a cable
run on Nick at Nite this season, ballooned 170% to a 2.7. Sony's Seinfeld declined 7% to a 2.5. Warner
Bros.' George Lopez lost 12% to a 2.3.
Twentieth's King of the Hill was flat
at a 2.2, tying NBCU's The Office,
which tumbled 27%. Warner Bros.' Friends fell
14% to a 1.8.
