Syndication Ratings: Shows Ring in New Year Mostly Lower

While the world was celebrating the New Year, syndies remained in a slump in the week ended Jan. 6 that included both the low viewership New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Entertainment magazines, however, staged a bit of a rally in the run-up to the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, Jan. 6.

CBS Television Distribution’s Entertainment Tonight increased 22% from the prior week to a 2.8 live plus same day household rating, according to Nielsen Media Research, to lead the magazines. CTD’s Inside Edition, which is not strictly an entertainment magazine and did not see a pop from the Globes, was next with a flat 2.7. NBCU’s Access jumped 20% to a 1.2, tying Warner Bros.’ TMZ, which rose 9%. Warner Bros.’ Extra grew 11% to a 1.0.

CTD’s Daily Mail TV posted a 13% increase to a 0.9, despite being handicapped after nearly three dozen Tribune media stations were blacked out on Spectrum in a carriage dispute affecting about 6 million subscribers in 24 markets, including New York and Los Angeles.

Twentieth’s Page Six TV held steady at a 0.6. Trifecta’s Celebrity Page logged a 0.2 for the 14th straight week.

Debmar-Mercury’s Family Feud was on par with the prior week at a 6.0, tying CTD’s Wheel of Fortune for first place in the category, with Wheel gaining 11%. CTD’s Jeopardy! jumped 5% to a 5.8.

Further back, Disney’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire was unchanged at a 1.6 for the fourth straight week. Entertainment Studios’ Funny You Should Ask held at a 0.5 for the 24th week in a row.

Disney’s viral video show RightThisMinute recovered 9% from a season low set in the previous session to a 1.2.

In daytime, CTD’s Dr. Phil, which was in reruns on all five days and was one of the very few talkers to included the lightly watched New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in its average, held steady week to week at a 2.3, tying Disney’s Live with Kelly and Ryan, which remained at its season high for a second straight week.

Among daytime’s key demographic of women 25-54, Phil and Live again tied for first, with both scoring a 1.0 in the key demo.

Warner Bros.’ Ellen DeGeneres delivered a 17% increase to a 2.1. NBCU’s Maury was flat at a 1.4. NBCU’s SteveWilkos advanced 9% to a 1.2. NBCU’s Steve, in repeats all week, slipped 8% to a 1.1, tying Debmar-Mercury’s Wendy Williams and CTD’s Rachael Ray, both of which held steady. Williams has been taking a break from her show after sustaining a shoulder injury over the holiday.

SPT’s Dr. Oz rebounded 11% from a season low set in the prior week to a 1.0. Warner Bros.’ The Real and CTD’s The Doctors both flatlined at a 0.6. The syndicated run of the out-of- production Jerry Springer stabilized at a 0.4 for the 17th straight week, tying Disney’s Pickler & Ben, which broke even.

Debmar-Mercury’s rookie court show, Caught in Providence, caught up to CTD’s panel talker Face the Truth for the first time, with Caught adding 17% to hit a season high and tie an unchanged Face the Truth at a 0.7.

Week one of a two-week trial one of CTD’s talker Breakthrough with Dr. Steve Perry on Fox stations in eight markets averaged a 0.4 rating/1 share weighted metered market average, down 50% from both its lead in and year-ago time period average. That’s half the rating of the show that aired in those slots last year at this time, NBCU’s canceled Harry, in New York and Atlanta, and a third of the rating of the show it replaced in Los Angeles, Dr. Oz.

Among women 25-54, Breakthrough’s premiere week turned in a 0.2/1, off 50% from its lead-in and off 60% from its year-ago time-period average.

Back among the veterans, CTD’s Judge Judy rebounded 8% to a 6.5 despite five days of reruns and led all of syndication for the 23rd straight week with one tie.

CTD’s Hot Bench, in repeats for most of the week, gained 5% to a 2.2.

Warner Bros.’ People’s Court and Judge Mathis and Twentieth’s Divorce Court all were constant at a 1.4, 1.0 and 0.7, respectively.

Among the new true-crime shows, NBCU’s off-net Dateline held steady at a 1.2. SPT’s off-A&E Live PD Police Patrol slumped 8% to a 1.1, while off-Investigation Discovery’s True Crime Files was unchanged at a 0.3 for the 17th straight week.

NBCU’s scripted police procedural Chicago PD backed off 9% from a season high set in the prior week to a 1.0.

Among the off-net sitcoms, Warner Bros.’ leader The Big Bang Theory inched up 2% to a 4.4. Twentieth’s Last Man Standing slid 9% to a 2.0, tying Twentieth’s Modern Family, which forged ahead 5%. SPT’s The Goldbergs grew 7% to a 1.5. Warner Bros.’ Two and a Half Men moved down 7% to a 1.3. Twentieth’s Family Guy and Disney’s Black-ish both remained at a 1.2. Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly eroded 8% to a 1.1. Warner Bros’ 2 Broke Girls stayed at a 1.0, while SPT’s Seinfeld slid 10% to a 0.9. 

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.